Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia

Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia are either Pakistani people who live in Saudi Arabia even though having been born outside Saudi Arabia or are Saudi Arabian-born, but have Pakistani roots. By Pakistani roots, this could mean roots linking back to Pakistan or Pakistani diaspora. Many pakistani army officers and soldiers also serve in Saudi Arabia and train the Saudi military cadets. According to a 2020 estimate, 1.06 million Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia as of 2020.[1]

Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia
Total population
1.06 million (2020 estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Riyadh, Khobar, Jeddah, Makkah, Jubail, Dammam, Jizan, Medina
Languages
Urdu · Pashto · Punjabi · Kashmiri · Sindhi · Arabic · Saraiki
Religion
Islam, Hinduism, Christianity

Culture

There are numerous restaurants, shops and cultural activities in Saudi Arabia which cater to Pakistani diaspora. In Jeddah, Azizia district is perhaps the best place to get Pakistani foods and shops. There is a huge Pakistani community living there due to the close proximity of the Pakistani School in Jeddah. Sharfia and Baghdadia district are other districts having significant Pakistanis living there.

Education

To meet the requirement of the education, there are Pakistani schools in large cities of Saudi Arabia. They are known as International Schools with the name of the city comes after where the school is situated. They follow Pakistani national curriculum apart from Pakistan International School (English Section), Jeddah, which follow British Curriculum.

Riyadh: Pakistan International School, Riyadh - Largest School catering to Pakistani residents in Riyadh. Pakistan International School, English Section provides IGCSE and ALevel education to the pakistani community

Jeddah: Pakistan International School, Jeddah and Pakistan International School (English Section), Jeddah

Jubail: Pakistan International School, Jubail

Taif: Pakistan International School, Taif

Al-Hassa: Pakistan International School, Al-Hasa

Al-Khobar: Pakistan International School, Al-Khobar

Al-Madina Al-Aqeeq international school, Al-Madina There are many private schools which cater to other educational needs of students.

Notable Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia
  • In 1957, Pakistani expatriate Anwar Ali[2] became the governor of SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Fund), who had come to the country with an International Monetary Fund mission and who held the post as a confidant of King Faisal until his death, in 1974.
  • Nawaz Sharif - spent eight years in self exile upon an agreement with Pervez Musharraf and Saad Hariri.
  • General Raheel Shareef - Ex-Chief Of Army Staff, Pakistan is currently the chief of Joint Islamic Forces, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi citizens of Pakistani descent
  • Ghulam Akbar Khan Niazi, military physician[3]
  • Umer Chapra, economist[4]
  • Abdullah Alam Rashid, Ministry of Agriculture a Punjabi-Pakistani Civil Engineer who helped build and map Saudi roadways connecting Riyadh to Jeddah in the early 1900s. Alam Rashid created and mapped the roadways and major connections between two of the most populous cities in the Kingdom leading to the discovery of habitat, natural resources and settlements. In recognition of his services to the Kingdom, he was granted citizenship and the highest civilian honor for his services.

Deportation

In four months, Saudi Arabia repatriation at least 40,000 Pakistanis due to involvement of a number of Pakistani nationals due to visa issue and violation of the rules of residence and work.[5][6][7][8] In report it was estimated that 250,000 Pakistanis have been deported in various countries in three years. Of them 131,643 were deportation from Saudi Arabia.[9]

Media

Urdu News targets Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia, providing them news in their native language, Urdu.[10] Bazm E Shaheen is also a community run organization which organizes events for the pakistani community in saudi arabia

See also

References
  1. https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/saudi-arabia-population-statistics/#:~:text=Saudi%20Arabia%20is%20also%20the,Yemenis%20is%20almost%201%20million. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. http://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/113365.pdf
  3. Shah, Aamir (17 February 2019). "King Abdullah's first Pakistani doctor says bilateral ties in the pink of health". Arab News Pakistan. Retrieved 13 April 2019. But to his surprise the crown prince asked: "You have been living here for so many years, why shouldn't I grant you nationality of Saudi Arabia?" "This was indeed a pleasant surprise for me and I bowed my head to express consent," Niazi said. "He granted me the nationality, saying 'Go and serve my people as a Saudi citizen and nobody now will call you a foreigner or a non-Saudi national'.
  4. Al-Khudair, Deema (16 February 2019). "50 years of memories: Pakistani economist who helped build Saudi banking system". Arab News. Retrieved 13 April 2019. Chapra won the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies in 1990. In recognition of his services to the Kingdom, he was granted Saudi citizenship.
  5. "39,000 Pakistanis deported from Saudi Arabia in four months - The Express Tribune". 21 February 2017.
  6. "Saudi Arabia 'deports 40,000 Pakistani workers over terror fears'". 13 February 2017.
  7. "40,000 Pakistani workers deported over terror fears from Saudi Arabia".
  8. Dawn.com (7 February 2017). "Saudi Arabia deported 39,000 Pakistanis in last four months: report".
  9. Dawn.com, APP (20 November 2016). "Nearly 250,000 Pakistanis deported from 2012-2015: report".
  10. "The biggest Urdu newspaper". Al Khaleejiah Advertasing and Public Relations Company. Retrieved 4 June 2012.

Bibliography
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