Lately, the international media has been abuzz with the news of Pakistani nationals being deported in hordes from the United Arab Emirates. But what’s the real story behind this mass Pakistani deportation? Times of Dubai went behind the headlines to decode the numbers and the true story behind it.
As per the records, from January to April 2026, a total of 3,494 emergency travel documents were issued by the Pakistani missions in the United Arab Emirates. This is the highest four months total in four years. The Consulate General in Dubai issued 2,714 emergency travel documents. A total of 780 documents were issued by the embassy in Abu Dhabi. These numbers have been confirmed officially by the spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Office, Tahir Andrabi in a press briefing on May 7th.
Related Stories
Pakistani Deportation: Reported Claims
New Lines Magazine, whose reporting was subsequently cited by The New York Times and Democracy Now, reported that up to 15,000 Pakistani workers had been detained and deported from the UAE since mid-April, with a majority of those affected appearing to be Shia Muslims.
According to the New Lines report, in many cases, the detainees were told to leave without being given the opportunity to pack belongings or withdraw funds from bank accounts. The New York Times claims to have spoken with more than 20 Pakistani Shias employed at Emirati companies, each of whom reported unexpected detention and deportation within the last month.
According to Prism News, citing New Lines Magazine, a Pakistani man who worked for Dubai’s RTA for over a decade was detained on April 12 and deported less than a week later. However, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has denied any sect-specific deportations, calling the reports “vicious propaganda”.
The Diplomatic Backdrop
The deportation reports emerged against a backdrop of measurable strain in UAE-Pakistan relations. The UAE suffered more than 2,700 Iranian missile and drone strikes combined. Experts believe Pakistan’s emergence as a mediator between Washington and Tehran was viewed by the UAE as an insufficiently supportive position from a longstanding ally.
The reports of $3.45 billion debt repayment demand, the Etihad Airways terminations of Pakistani staff with 48-hour notice, and the elevated deportation numbers all landed within weeks of each other. It is a confluence that Pakistani observers have read as a coordinated signal even if no single element is officially characterised as such.
Pakistani Deportation: Pakistan’s Response
But as the reports of deportation of its nationals made headlines, Pakistan’s establishment came out with a clarification. The country’s response came in two stages. First, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, speaking at his weekly press briefing in Islamabad on May 7, said the deportations were largely linked to immigration violations, legal infractions, and a royal pardon process in the UAE that facilitated the release and return of jailed individuals. This is a standard practice in the country, which clearly seemed to have been read out of context by the international media.
“I do not see any political reason behind the deportations,” Andrabi said. “These are primarily legal cases, which are being taken care of, both by our diplomatic missions in the UAE as well as by the UAE authorities.”
The second, more emphatic response came from Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior on May 8, a day after The New York Times published its large-scale expulsion report. The Interior Ministry said it had taken notice of “speculative reporting in sections of media especially social media about targeted deportations of Pakistani nationals from the brotherly Islamic country of UAE,” calling all such reporting “malafide and part of vicious propaganda by vested interests.”
It stated categorically that “no country or sect specific deportations from any country including UAE are being carried out.” The ministry explained that deportations, if any, were in accordance with the host country’s laws and regulations, such as cases involving visa violations, lack of proper documentation or overstays, and that Pakistani nationals who meet the visa and employment criteria are still able to travel to and gain employment in the UAE without any prejudice.
The Interior Ministry also confirmed it had begun five-year travel restrictions on those deported from the Gulf countries and had taken steps to cancel the passports of those affected who had violated local laws. The step is indicative of Islamabad’s willingness to consider at least some of the returns as a result of enforcement action, not as a form of arbitrary expulsion.
Pakistani Deportations: UAE’s Response
Neither any of the ministries nor any of their spokespersons nor officials has come out with a public statement on the extent of the departures, the sectarian dimension of the reported targeting, or responded to The New York Times report in public. The UAE’s silence may have lent momentum to unsubstantiated reports.
When the reporters of New Lines Magazine contacted Pakistan’s Foreign Office on the specific allegations of sectarian targeting, the spokesperson Tahir Andrabi denied the Pakistani deportations and hung up the phone, as per the reports. This also may have been one of the challenges in reporting this story accurately.
The rise in emergency travel documents given by authorities in both governments was confirmed by the respective governments’ own claims that travel documents issued reached a four-year peak in the first quarter of 2026.
What It Means for Families
The Pakistan community, which consists of about 1.6 million people, is the UAE’s second largest expatriate community after Indians. In FY 2024-25, remittances from the UAE to Pakistan reached USD 6.3 billion, which is a vital source of livelihood for thousands of Pakistani families.
Many of those said to be impacted are labourers, doctors, teachers and small business owners who had established lives in the UAE for many years. Their families back home depend entirely on their monthly transfers. A sudden forced return, particularly one that reportedly prevented access to bank accounts before departure, does not just disrupt a career. It for all practical purposes collapses the financial architecture of an entire household with no notice and no recourse. And hence, it’s important to clear the air on such reports.
The Reputation Question
For the UAE, the reputational dimension of this story is real regardless of whether the deportations are confirmed at the scale reported. The country’s brand as a neutral, rules-based, cosmopolitan hub rests partly on the perception that residency and employment here are governed by transparent law rather than political calculation.
Just two weeks ago, when these reports were making the rounds in international media, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Shafqat Ali Khan, spoke at a media welcome dinner in Dubai calling the Pakistan – UAE partnership “unshakeable” and a strategic priority for Islamabad, rooted in decades of trust, cooperation, and shared interests.
In fact, he dismissed reports about visa restrictions and mass Pakistani deportation calling them ‘misleading and unfounded.’ He pointed to official figures showing an increase of around 50,000 Pakistanis in the UAE over the past year.
Urging media outlets to verify information before publication, he reminded that while individual visa cases may occur, immigration policies remain a sovereign matter.
Read More: Al Qadsiah vs Al Nassr: Streak Ends on a Strange Night
