Governments Alarmed as 50-100k Pakistani Workers Flee To Live in Iraq - The Media Line

Fifty thousand Pakistanis have disappeared in Iraq after performing the Shiite religious pilgrimage during the Ashura season in Karbala .

Efforts to find them have led to arrests across Iraq , raising concerns over labor and security issues.

Pakistanis and several other nationalities work in Iraq , including Bangladeshis , Indians , Nepalis , and Filipinos .

Pakistanis have infiltrated through the desert and unofficial routes to other regions and governorates for work.

The Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs confirmed that these people are looking for “work and money” and are not terrorists and will not join any terrorist organizations.

Allegations emerged that a Shiite cleric named Bashir al-Najafi was behind the matter.

He is a cleric of Pakistani origin who resides in the Iraqi province of Najaf .

The office of Shiite cleric Bashir al-Najafi responded to The Media Line’s inquiry about the accusations against him with a short message.

So far, it seems that the Pakistanis have come only for work, but it is not unlikely that they will be recruited later to fight in Syria or even Lebanon .