ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control on Thursday sought a detailed response from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) within a week on complaints of passengers being discharged from airports despite possessing valid travel documents.
The issue was raised during a committee meeting in Parliament chaired by Raja Khurram Nawaz, where Member of National Assembly (MNA) Chaudhry Naseer Abbas Sidhu criticized the “arbitrary actions of immigration officials” at airports.
Sidhu told the committee that Pakistani citizens with valid visas and complete legal documents were still being prevented from traveling without clear justification. “Poor people spend huge sums of money on airline tickets and yet they get fired for no reason,” he said.
Questioning the legal basis on which FIA officials prevent passengers from boarding flights, he urged the government to formulate a transparent and clearly defined policy on offloading, arguing that currently passengers were detained at the discretion of individual officials.
“Whoever an officer decides to detain will be detained without explanation,” the lawmaker told the committee, adding that the practice not only affected travelers and their families but also harmed the country’s foreign exchange flows.
He highlighted the difficulties faced by overseas Pakistanis in obtaining passports and dealing with immigration authorities. He said many Pakistanis who had settled abroad years ago and acquired residency documents in European countries continued to face unnecessary obstacles while traveling to and from Pakistan.
Sidhu termed issuance of passports as a basic right of every Pakistani citizen and urged authorities to minimize delays in the process. He said reports suggested many applicants were having difficulty obtaining passports in a timely manner.
“If someone reapplies for a passport, it should still be issued,” he said, adding that while penalties for repeat applications could increase, undue delays were unacceptable. The committee ordered the FIA to present a full explanation at the next meeting.
