34 undocumented Afghans held in Balochistan

The FIA says 34 undocumented Afghan nationals, including men, women and children, were arrested in Balochistan while travelling towards Gwadar. Officials said a case has been registered and an investigation is under way.

QUETTA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday said it had arrested 34 Afghan nationals in Balochistan after they entered Pakistan without the required documents and were travelling towards the Gwadar area.

According to an FIA spokesman, the arrests were made by the agency’s Turbat wing during an operation carried out after receiving a tip-off. The spokesman said the team raided the CPEC road area and detained 34 undocumented Afghan nationals.

The FIA spokesman said the group was allegedly trying to travel to Iran through the Gwadar route. He said the action formed part of ongoing efforts to check illegal human smuggling and undocumented cross-border movement in the region.

Operation carried out by FIA Turbat wing

The spokesman said those taken into custody included men, women and children. He added that the operation was launched on the basis of prior information and was conducted in the CPEC road area by the FIA’s Turbat wing.

After preliminary questioning, a case was registered against the detained Afghan nationals, the spokesman said. He added that further investigation was under way to trace facilitators and networks allegedly involved in the illegal movement of foreign nationals.

The FIA spokesman said the agency was continuing its action against unlawful migration and human trafficking. He said the FIA remained committed to taking strict legal action against human traffickers and all those involved in illegal migration activities.

Investigation under way

Officials did not provide further details about the identities of those arrested or the exact point from where they had entered Pakistan. However, the FIA spokesman said the inquiry would focus on identifying the people and networks that may have assisted their movement towards the coastal route.

The arrests come amid continued enforcement measures in the region targeting undocumented cross-border travel and suspected human smuggling operations. In this case, the FIA said the detained Afghan nationals were intercepted before they could proceed further on the route allegedly being used to reach Iran through Gwadar.

The agency said legal proceedings had been initiated and the investigation was continuing.