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

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" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war, raising alarm in Pakistan’s Shiite community and prompting Human Rights Watch to investigate.Journalists reviewed immigration documents, visa-status screenshots and flight details for 103 Pakistanis who said they were deported Shi’ites, interviewing 24 of them. Each interviewee said they were unable to retrieve luggage or savings before being placed ‌on flights alongside dozens of other Shiite deportees.A 24-year-old airport customer service officer and a 26-year-old building security officer, both Pakistani Shiite Muslims who were working in the United Arab Emirates, pose after being deported along with many others following the US-Israeli war against Iran, in Chakwal, Pakistan, on May 5. Photo: ReutersA database compiled by the Pakistani Shiite political organisation Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimee lists 7,500 Pakistani Shi’ites deported from the Gulf Arab state since February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Group spokesperson Mohsin Abidi said the actual number was likely far higher.Deportations acceleratingLeaders of Pakistan’s Shiite community say the Deportations have accelerated during the war, which has heightened tensions across the Gulf, particularly as Iran responded by launching missile and drone strikes on the UAE.