Matej Visniek in his play “Migrants or There Are Too Many of Us on This Boat” writes: “Today, in the globalized world, we are all immigrants… But do we have the wisdom to understand our new identity?”.
The social and political reality clearly demonstrates that unfortunately we are not ready to understand the importance of the humanitarian core of this saying.
Of course, in a globalized world of free economy and movement of goods, it is fair for there to be free movement of people from country to country when crises require it. However, the movement of people from place to place must occur in the light of security and legality.
In addition, migrants must respect the new cultural context of the country they are trying to integrate from the moment they ask for support.
Unfortunately, Pakistan as a country has a long tradition of illegal immigration and migrant crimes in host countries, as Pakistani migrants fully embody the saying of the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Antichi, that “when you arrive in a new country, you carry your old life in your luggage.”
According to the latest 2025 report by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) (“Frontex releases Annual Risk Analysis 2025-2026“), Pakistan has now risen to fifth place among the countries responsible for the most illegal immigrants in Europe, with thousands of Pakistanis risking their lives every year in search of a better future.
This alarming increase has surpassed traditional hubs of illegal migration such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, placing Pakistan alongside countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, nations plagued by conflict and economic instability.
The main route taken by illegal migrants from Pakistan to Europe often begins in major cities such as Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot, where people smugglers lure victims with promises of a safe and prosperous life in Europe.
Desperate families often sell their property, jewellery and savings to pay large sums to these smugglers, who then facilitate the migrants’ illegal journey via land and sea routes.
The most common route involves traveling from Pakistan to Iran by road, crossing the border into Turkey through dangerous mountainous terrain, heading to the Libyan coast via smuggling networks, and boarding overcrowded and unsafe boats from Libya to Italy, Greece, or Malta.
Often, many migrants never reach their destination, falling victim to drowning, extortion, or captivity in detention centers run by militias or criminal organizations in Libya.
As of June 2025, the number of Pakistanis residing in Europe is estimated to be around 2.2 million. Of these, around 398,000 are registered as Pakistani nationals legally present in Europe, according to Eurostat data for 2023.
The difference between the two numbers is likely due to people of Pakistani origin who have acquired the citizenship of their country of residence or to unregistered migrants.
The largest Pakistani community in Europe is in the United Kingdom, with around 2 million people.
Italy follows closely behind with 200,000 migrants and Germany with 140,000 migrants of Pakistani origin.
The Pakistani community in Greece is mainly made up of young men who until recently were engaged only in manual labor, but are now starting to fill positions in the technology sector. Greece, as a country of first reception of immigrants, may face increased arrivals of Pakistani immigrants in the near future.
The Greek government is closely monitoring developments and is cooperating with international organizations to manage migratory flows and provide humanitarian assistance.
While the immediate impact of the India-Pakistan war over Kashmir on migratory flows to Greece is not yet fully visible, the ongoing instability in the region is likely to lead to increased migratory pressures in the future.
Unfortunately, due to cultural and religious differences between Pakistan and Europe, Pakistanis cannot easily integrate into the countries they go to and, even worse, they often commit crimes.
In England, in January 2025, eight men were sentenced to a total of almost 58 years in prison for the sexual abuse of two underage girls in Keighley, West Yorkshire in the 1990s.
The perpetrators, mostly of Pakistani origin, were convicted of rape and other sexual assaults, with the cases coming to light after the victims testified as adults.
In terms of crimes committed by Pakistanis in France, a notable case concerns Zahir Mahmoud, who was sentenced in January 2025 to 30 years in prison for the attempted murder of two people outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in 2020.
This attack was classified as a terrorist act and was related to the perpetrator’s reaction to the magazine’s satirical publications. In Italy, the most well-known case concerns the murder of 18-year-old Shaman Abbas, who disappeared in April 2021 after refusing to marry a cousin of hers in Pakistan.
Her body was found in 2022 in an abandoned farm in northern Italy. In April 2025, an Italian appeals court upheld the life sentences of her parents, while her uncle was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Unemployment, poverty and social isolation of migrants can increase the likelihood of involvement in criminal activities. In addition, uncertainty about their stay in the host country can lead to delinquent behavior.
Finally, the difficulty of integration and cultural differences may contribute to conflicts with the law. One thing is certain, due to all these reasons, Pakistanis have serious difficulties integrating into Europe and other developing countries.
It is no wonder, then, that visa applications made by Pakistanis who often try to migrate to other countries are often rejected.
Speaking at a public event in Sialkot on April 19, Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, had pointed out that the problem of obtaining visas from other countries for Pakistanis has now reached alarming levels of difficulty.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, in the national assembly, announced that a total of 5,402 Pakistani citizens have been deported from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar and the UAE since January 2024.
The main reason for deportation is begging. The data shows that 4,850 Pakistanis were deported from these countries in 2024 alone, while 552 returned to Pakistan this year.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Hawij Asif, said that the problem of Pakistanis obtaining visas is linked to the fact that a huge part of the Pakistani population is engaged in professional begging.
About 22 million people in Pakistan are engaged in begging, generating about 42 billion euros annually. This number highlights the scale of the problem.
In 2023, during a Senate committee hearing, then-Secretary of State Zulfikar Haider revealed that the majority of beggars arrested abroad — about 90 percent — were Pakistani nationals.
He said many of them travel on pilgrimage visas to countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq, but end up begging instead.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, during an event in Jammu and Kashmir, commented on Pakistan’s economic situation as being so bad that Pakistan is usually associated with professional begging.
The fact that a person sees an organized system of begging as the only way to make a living means that they live in a state with a complete lack of social structure.
Pakistan is a theocratic state whose only serious investment is in military equipment, with a health and education system that is almost non-existent. Living conditions there are so bad for the majority of people that they are willing to pay smugglers who promise them the European dream.
By the time these people reach Europe, however, their meager savings have been exhausted, the promised work is nowhere to be seen, and so they remain trapped in the states.
The government has taken some measures to prevent the flow of these people, including improving immigration controls and placing almost 4,000 people on an exit control list.
While this may seem like a proactive approach, it is in fact mostly reactive, as instead of addressing the cause, it simply treats the symptoms.
If we really want to stem the waves of migrants coming from Pakistan, who often engage in criminal activities in the countries they arrive in, bold measures must be taken, such as effectively controlling Europe’s borders with drones, cameras and identification systems.
Finally, with the help of the rules of international law and the law of the sea, intergovernmental agreements must be established with Pakistan, with the rapid return of illegal immigrants and international cooperation to dismantle trafficking rings and terrorist networks.
Of course, all these measures are not certain to be considered sufficient when we are talking about a theocratic state with a lack of cultural level.
