Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry speaks to reporters outside Parliament in Islamabad on October 9, 2025.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Thursday said relations between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were “absolutely good” and denied speculation of a severing of ties.
He made the statement during a session of the National Assembly (NA) while responding to concerns of parliamentarians over the alleged expulsion of Pakistanis from the Middle Eastern country.
The issue first surfaced last month when some social media accounts claimed that around 1,200 Pakistanis had been deported from the UAE over visa-related reasons and alleged law violations following the regional crisis that erupted after the US-Iran war. A report published by The New York Times claimed that the UAE had launched a large-scale expulsion of Pakistani workers.
The report said it interviewed 20 Pakistani Shiites, including eight UAE-based businessmen, who claimed their Pakistani employees had been expelled in recent weeks. According to the report, the expulsions took place amid “perceived UAE dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s response to Iranian strikes” against the Gulf state, as Islamabad attempted to broker a peace deal between the United States and Iran. The Interior Ministry dismissed the reports as “bad faith” and part of a “vicious propaganda” campaign.
Chaudhry warned against “building false narratives against friendly countries”, while rejecting claims that the UAE expulsions were based on sectarian motives.
“The government has categorically denied these rumors,” he stressed.
Addressing the audience, the minister highlighted that the highest amount of remittances came from overseas Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE.
“Currently, 1.7 million Pakistanis are ‘legally’ residing in the UAE,” he said, adding that these people have contributed to the recovery of the host country and Pakistan.
“We should not draw premature conclusions regarding countries, as this could have a negative impact on our future relations. »
Furthermore, the minister assured that the government would protect all citizens and address their complaints regardless of their “religion and ethnicity.”
Highlighting the good relations between Pakistan and the UAE, the Interior Minister said, “Official and diplomatic passport holders are now being granted entry under new arrangements, a facility which was not available earlier. »
Passport classification and visa facilitation
Reflecting on the government’s performance, Chaudhry said, “Pakistan’s passport ranking and international travel facilitation have improved during the current period. »
He asked lawmakers to compare the current and previous mandates in terms of results, saying “several visa-facilitating agreements” had been signed with a multitude of countries, including arrangements for diplomatic and official passport holders.
“Progress has also been made on visa-free entry,” he said.
Terrorism
Commenting on the recent terrorist attack, the Interior Minister said the “fight against this terrorism” was being led by both the provincial and federal governments.
He urged parliamentarians to examine the government’s performance against ground realities in order to assess the situation fairly.
Chaudhry also called on lawmakers for a thorough parliamentary debate on the implementation of the National Action Plan.
“All stakeholders agreed on this,” he said while requesting the floor to highlight gaps in implementation, “if any.”
He asked members to also devote a session to evaluate the execution of the plan and its effectiveness in the fight against terrorism.
