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51,000 Passengers Offloaded at Airports This Year Over Immigration Issues: FIA
FIA tells NA committee that 51,000 passengers were offloaded at Pakistani airports this year after failing immigration checks, mainly at Lahore and Karachi, amid a crackdown on migrant smuggling.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-12-17
51,000 Passengers Offloaded at Airports This Year Over Immigration Issues: FIA

A meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed on Wednesday that 51,000 passengers were offloaded at Pakistani airports during the current year after failing immigration checks, with the highest number of cases reported at Lahore and Karachi airports.

The meeting, chaired by Aga Rafiullah, discussed growing concerns over the offloading of travellers from international flights despite holding valid travel documents. The issue gained prominence following a nationwide crackdown on migrant smuggling launched after the 2024 Greece boat tragedy, in which several Pakistanis lost their lives.

Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Riffat Mukhtar Raja told the committee that a total of 66,000 passengers were offloaded this year, out of which 51,000 were stopped by the FIA due to insufficient or unverified documentation.

“Passengers are offloaded on the basis of document verification, data checks and online authentication,” the DG FIA said, adding that many travellers lacked complete information regarding their universities, courses, or employment details abroad.

He informed the committee that in several cases, passengers attempted to travel through agents using incomplete or incorrect documentation. He also revealed that 180 FIA officials involved in corruption had been dismissed, and all major airports had now been linked to NADRA’s online database to strengthen immigration controls.

“No passenger was cleared under political influence or VIP pressure,” Raja stressed, adding that cameras had been installed at immigration counters and monitoring was being conducted from the control headquarters. He said the immigration system was also using artificial intelligence to identify suspicious cases in advance.

According to the FIA, most offloaded passengers belonged to visit, Umrah and work visa categories. During the current year, around 8.5 million people travelled abroad from Pakistan, while 226 cases were registered for various immigration-related offences.

The DG FIA also informed lawmakers that over the past three months, 450 people were arrested while attempting to illegally cross into Iran, and several Bangladeshi nationals were caught trying to travel to Europe via Pakistan using Pakistani tourist visas. He added that 287 people were deported last year and 170 this year for using fake documents.

The committee was further told that 24,000 Pakistani nationals accused of begging had been deported from Saudi Arabia during the current year.

Separately, Secretary Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry informed the committee that under Saudi Vision 2030, investments worth $1 trillion were expected to flow into Saudi Arabia, creating significant employment opportunities. He said that if Pakistan improved training for its skilled workforce, it could benefit greatly from these opportunities.

He added that 451,000 Pakistanis travelled to Saudi Arabia last year, while more than 500,000 have gone during the current year.

During the meeting, committee chairman Aga Rafiullah criticised the performance of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, terming it ineffective. Committee member Muhammad Ilyas Chaudhry also questioned the provision of drivers to community welfare attachés in Europe, highlighting the high cost of assigning drivers to Grade 17 and 18 officers.

Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had stated that no passenger with complete travel documents was being stopped, while those carrying incomplete or bogus documents would not be allowed to travel. The FIA has also clarified that offloading only occurs in cases of invalid documentation or suspected links to migrant smuggling.
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FIA

OverseasPakistanis

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