The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued its first travel warning in 20 years, as part of attempts to curb human trafficking.
The FIA headquarters has sent a letter to deputy directors of immigration across the country, directing strict screening of passengers from 15 countries, 9 cities of Pakistan and two airlines.
For the first time, the notice focuses on strengthening surveillance of passengers between 15 and 40 years old traveling abroad. Strict checks have been ordered for young passengers traveling with FlyDubai and Ethiopian Airlines.
Passengers from Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Kenya, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be subject to close scrutiny.
The letter also includes profiles of passengers from Libya, Iran, Mauritania, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan. These 15 countries were used by Pakistanis as transit points for human trafficking to Europe.
The movement of passengers with tourist, religious or educational visas to these countries is being reviewed. The notice was prepared based on the analysis of the IBMS database from July to December.
According to the advisory, passengers from Mandi Bahauddin, Gujarat, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Bimber should be closely monitored. Profiling measures for passengers from Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura should also be improved.
A thorough examination of return tickets, hotel reservations and all documents has been ordered. Special attention should be paid to documents for visit or tourist visas. Suspicious passengers must be interviewed about the reason for their travel and their financial arrangements.
FIA officials have stressed that detailed records must be kept of suspected passengers and that any irregularities must be reported immediately.
Earlier, the FIA on Friday claimed to have foiled a major human smuggling attempt at Islamabad airport under the guise of Umrah visas, offloading and detaining five people, including a 16-year-old boy.
The suspects were attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia and Libya before traveling by sea to Italy. The Agency has already initiated strict control procedures at airports and borders to combat human trafficking.
During one such check at Islamabad airport, immigration officials discovered that five suspicious passengers, including Miraj Khan, Usman Khan, Asad Ali and Murtaza Ali, were traveling on Umrah visas to Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a coordinated and holistic approach to apprehend and punish those involved in human trafficking, while assigning various tasks to the ministries of Justice, Interior, Information and Foreign Affairs to this end. regard.
Chairing a review meeting on measures taken against human trafficking in the country, the Prime Minister appreciated the recent actions taken by the FIA against officials involved in this heinous crime.
