Home Minister says those who bring bad name to Pakistan will face strict action
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi said professional beggars and people traveling with incomplete documents will not be allowed to travel abroad. Radio Pakistan reported.
He was speaking to passengers during a visit to the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Sunday, accompanied by Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry.
“Those who bring bad name to Pakistan will face strict action,” Naqvi said, emphasizing the need to protect the country’s reputation. The Home Minister also clarified that no passenger will be prevented from traveling without a valid reason.
“Pakistan’s dignity and passenger facilitation are my top priorities,” he added. During the visit, Naqvi and Chaudhry inspected the immigration counters and reviewed the departure process to ensure smooth operations at the airport.
Read more: Prime Minister calls for stricter immigration controls
A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad to review measures against human trafficking, undocumented travel abroad and weaknesses in the country’s immigration processes.
The Prime Minister was briefed on recent coercive actions by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), including the arrest of 451 people involved in human trafficking and illegal migration.
He also highlighted the airport inspections carried out by Mohsin Naqvi following complaints about the unloading of passengers, calling the intervention timely and necessary.
The Prime Minister directed authorities to ensure that passengers possessing valid travel documents are not harassed by coercive action against illegal travellers.
He stressed the need to improve the performance of the Immigrant Protectorate and strengthen coordination between the FIA and other relevant institutions to avoid delays for legitimate travelers.
Highlighting the role of technology, the prime minister called for greater use of digital tools to improve the efficiency and transparency of immigration procedures. He further ordered authorities to take strict action against corrupt elements within law enforcement agencies, noting that 196 FIA officials and staff had already been dismissed after being found guilty of corruption.
On Thursday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed to a parliamentary panel that it disembarked 66,154 passengers this year to prevent organized gangs of beggars and illegal immigrants from traveling abroad.
“The rise in discharges is multi-faceted,” FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, chaired by Syed Rafiullah.
The meeting was convened to examine the growing phenomenon of passengers being prevented from boarding flights as well as the role and performance of the Community Welfare Attaché (CWA) network in protecting overseas Pakistanis.
During the meeting, DG FIA briefed the committee on the operational realities at the ports of departure. The FIA director general clarified that 51,000 of these people were detained due to the questionable veracity of their travel documents which fall into three main categories: work visas, tourist visas and Umrah visas.
Also read: 66,154 air travelers disembarked this year
He highlighted that illegal migration and begging networks are seriously damaging Pakistan’s international image. It reported that 56,000 beggars were deported from Saudi Arabia, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also imposed visa restrictions in view of the phenomenon.
Mukhtar said trends had been observed in illegal migration to Africa, and even on tourist visas to countries such as Cambodia and Thailand. The FIA official defended the strict measures as necessary to curb human trafficking and protect Pakistan’s international standing.
He noted that the increase in downloads is a countermeasure against fraudulent immigration networks, and revealed that 56,000 people involved in organized begging were recently deported from Saudi Arabia.
He pointed to increasing restrictions from the United Arab Emirates and emerging illegal migration routes to Africa and Europe as drivers for increased surveillance.
