Exclusive: UAE deports Pakistani Shia workers after Iran strikes US assets

Emirati authorities have deported many Pakistani Shia workers from the United Arab Emirates after Iran began retaliatory strikes against US military sites and facilities in the Persian Gulf Arab state.

According to Press TV correspondent Nasir Kazmi from Islamabad, authorities in the UAE have deported thousands of foreigners, including Pakistani nationals, from the Arab state, forcing them to return to their countries without formal charges or legal recourse.

The mass expulsions came after Iran began launching retaliatory missile and drone attacks against military facilities and strategic sites of the United States in the Persian Gulf Arab countries, particularly those in the UAE, in retaliation for a US-Israeli unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic which was launched on February 28.

Kazmi said he has obtained a deportation list which shows majority of those expelled from Dubai were in fact Pakistani nationals.

Many of those targeted by Emirati authorities identified themselves as Shia Muslims. The sweeping deportation campaign also targeted Iranian Shia workers while Shia workers for Iraq and Lebanon were not subjected to similar measures.

“We were called by the authorities without any prior notice. They told us ‘Leave the country immediately’ without any reason,” an unnamed deported Pakistani national told the Press TV correspondent.

"Many Pakistanis working there were questioned about their sect and after the war on Iran the pressure increased significantly. The UAE authorities started deporting people with names such as Ali, Haidar, Hossain, Hassan and Abbas, or those who had been visiting Shia masques for prayers, whether they were Shia or Sunni."

Another unnamed deportee said that the sudden expulsion has left him and several others unemployed, struggling to provide for their families back in Pakistan.

“We spent years in Dubai to support our families. But in a few hours, everything changed. Many people returned to Pakistan without salaries, savings or any explanation from the authorities. We demand that the government of Pakistan take immediate steps to help restore our jobs and ensure the recovery of our pending salaries and assets,” he said.

Pakistani Shia workers deported from UAE amid US-imposed war on Iran

The UAE deports thousands of Pakistani Shia workers in the aftermath of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, raising concerns of sect-based targeting.

Nadir Balouch, an Islamabad-based journalist covering the issue since April, told the Press TV correspondent that over 5,000 affected families have so far been registered, saying that the mass expulsion happened as Pakistan has mediated talks between Tehran and Washington to end the war.

“In the aftermath of the US imposed war on Iran, the UAE deported thousands of Pakistanis, most of them Shia Muslims. Many deportees told me they were harassed, detained and expelled without prior notice. The move reflects the UAE’s displeasure of Pakistan’s close ties with Iran and Islamabad’s mediation efforts during the war while the sudden demand for repayment of $3.5 billion loan has further fueled concerns,” Balouch added.

This is while Pakistan’s interior ministry has rejected reports of sect-based deportation from the UAE, calling the claims misleading and politically motivated.

Earlier this month, reports said that authorities in the UAE were conducting a sweeping deportation campaign targeting tens of thousands of Pakistani workers, freezing their bank accounts and stripping them of their life savings.

The systematic removals involve sudden arrests, phone confiscations, and transfers between various detention facilities before the workers are forced onto flights back to Pakistan.

In a report on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources, said that the UAE carried out secret military strikes against Iran in direct support of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

According to the report, one of the strikes targeted an oil refinery on the island of Lavan in the Persian Gulf back in April, roughly when a two-week Pakistan-mediated ceasefire agreement was reached between Washington and Tehran.

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