The story: A panic over irregular migration has erupted in Iraq following a Pakistani minister’s apparent claim that 50,000 religious pilgrims have “disappeared” in the country. While later reports alleged that the Pakistani visitors have illegally remained in Iraq, there are speculations that some of those unaccounted for may have joined Iran-backed Shiite armed groups. Although these claims have been largely debunked, the controversy has brought the broader issue of the sizable undocumented migrant labor force in Iraq out into the open. 

The coverage: Pakistani newspaper Al-Umma on July 25 quoted the country’s minister for religious affairs and interfaith harmony, Chaudry Salik Hussain, as saying that 50,000 pilgrims had “vanished” in Iraq over...