A total of 580 Pakistani citizens traveled to Belarus and did not return home. The figures were disclosed by Usman Anwar, Director General of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior Affairs. The session focused on illegal migration and criminal law reforms, according to The Express Tribune.
According to the head of the FIA, 10,000 Pakistanis traveled to the United Kingdom on student visas and subsequently applied for asylum there, 7,000 went to Azerbaijan on tourist visas and did not return, while 580 traveled to Belarus and failed to return home. Another 175 Pakistani citizens were arrested in Libya and deported to Pakistan.
Illegal migration from Pakistan fell by 47% in 2025, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said. Last year, nearly 40,000 Pakistanis attempting to leave the country without proper documents were prevented from doing so.
In April 2025, Aliaksandr Lukashenka stated that Belarus was prepared to accept up to 150,000 labour migrants from Pakistan. In May 2026, he signed a law regulating the arrival of Pakistani labour migrants. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia regularly report detentions of migrants, including Pakistani nationals, on their borders with Belarus.
