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Several illegal Pakistanis sent home: officials

DUBAI - Several of the 100 illegal Pakistanis, who demonstrated on Sunday in front of the Al Quoz detention centre demanding completion of their amnesty procedures before April 30, have been sent home, according to officials at the Al Quoz detention centre on Shaikh Zayed Road.

The officials who were unable to give details said about 100 Pakistanis held a protest and disrupted the traffic at the Defence Roundabout on Shaikh Zayed Road earlier this week.

They further said the remaining number of protesters were also being sent back to Pakistan as soon as possible after completion of their procedures. They said that Dubai Police played an important role in controlling the crowd and noted down the names of the protesters.

According to Press reports, the protesters were illegal Pakistani nationals seeking amnesty and they had already been issued outpasses from the Pakistani Consulate-General in Dubai but were awaiting clearance of immigration procedures.

During the demonstration, the protesters also demanded that the detention centre provide them with boarding until they went back to Pakistan, as they feared that if they stayed in the country after April 30, they would have to pay a fine for each day of their overstay. At present, the Al Quoz detention centre can accommodate only 1000 inmates.

When Khaleej Times contacted Consul-General of Pakistan Amanullah Larik, he denied having knowledge of any such event, but later clarified that the protesters were not only Pakistanis, as mentioned in Press reports, but also included people of several other nationalities.

Mr Larik further said that a team of officials had been despatched from the consulate to offer all possible help to the protesters and help them get clearance from the authorities.

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