UAE deports Pakistani Shiites: jobs lost and savings frozen amid Iran war

AI Summary

The United Arab Emirates has deported more than 100 Pakistani Shiite Muslims back to Pakistan amidst the Iran war, resulting in job losses and frozen savings. This mass deportation has raised concerns within Pakistan’s Shiite community and is under investigation by Human Rights Watch.

In a cluster of villages in Pakistan’s largely ⁠rural Chakwal district, more than 100 Shiite Muslims have returned from the United Arab Emirates without jobs, luggage or access to the savings they spent years building abroad. They are among potentially thousands of Shi’ites deported from the UAE to Pakistan during the Iran war, raising alarm in Pakistan’s Shiite community and prompting Human Rights Watch to investigate. Journalists reviewed immigration documents, visa-status screenshots and...