Pakistan offloaded over 50,000 passengers amid crackdown on illegal migration

Islamabad, Dec 17 (PTI) Pakistan authorities stopped at least 51,000 citizens from travelling abroad this year as the country whipped up efforts to curb human smuggling and stop potential beggars, it emerged on Wednesday.

The information was shared during the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, chaired by Agha Rafiullah.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General, Riffat Mukhtar Raja, briefing the parliamentary panel provided details of enforcement measures.

"At least 51,000 Pakistanis were offloaded this year alone at various airports,” he said.

He said many of those stopped from travelling were trying to go to Europe and Saudi Arabia. Those travelling to the Kingdom were using the pretext of performing Umrah, while those intending to European countries were found lacking the supporting documents.

He also said that Saudi Arabia deported 24,000 individuals for begging, which was the highest number of Pakistanis who were sent back by any country. The UAE deported 6,000 Pakistanis on similar grounds, while Azerbaijan expelled around 2,500 beggars.

The committee was also informed about the Pakistanis who went to different countries but never returned. Raja said that 24,000 Pakistanis travelled to Cambodia this year, of whom 12,000 have yet to return, while 4,000 went to Myanmar on tourist visas and around 2,500 did not come back.

The FIA chief said stricter controls had improved Pakistan’s passport ranking from 118 to 92, noting that Pakistan was previously among the top five countries for illegal migration but had now exited that list due to revised policies.

He added that illegal migration to Europe had declined, with 8,000 Pakistanis travelling illegally last year compared to 4,000 this year. The FIA DG also informed the committee that Dubai and Germany had made official passports visa-free, while an e-immigration application would be launched by mid-January.

He said during the current year, 8.5 million people travelled abroad from Pakistan, while 226 cases were registered for various offences.

The official further informed the lawmakers that cameras have been installed at immigration counters at airports and that monitoring is being carried out from the control headquarters.

“The immigration system is using artificial intelligence to identify suspicious cases in advance.” Raja also revealed that several Bangladeshi nationals were found attempting to travel illegally to Europe via Pakistan. PTI SH AMS