Travel checks leave 40,000 offloaded in 2025

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency said it stopped 39,786 passengers from boarding flights during 2025 under what it described as a lawful, intelligence-based and risk-driven screening framework aimed at checking irregular migration, breaking up human smuggling networks and protecting Pakistanis from abuse abroad.

Immigration Additional Director General Nouman Siddiqui, speaking to a select group of senior journalists on Sunday, said the offloading process was meant as a preventive step to save lives, block human trafficking and protect Pakistan’s standing internationally. He said immigration decisions were taken under established procedures and were based on travel patterns, document checks and destination-country requirements rather than personal discretion.

At the briefing, Siddiqui said the main purpose of the policy was to protect human life and stop exploitation by traffickers. He said immigration officials use intelligence inputs, suspicious travel indicators, scrutiny of travel documents and standard operating procedures before stopping a passenger from boarding.

Siddiqui said the push against irregular migration became more urgent after a series of deadly incidents tied to illegal migration routes. Over the last three years, about 460 Pakistanis have been affected in such incidents, including at least 377 deaths, he said. Referring to International Organisation for Migration data, he added that 109 Pakistanis died in 2025 alone while attempting irregular migration.

The issue drew heightened attention after the Greece boat disaster in June 2023, in which many Pakistani migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea. Siddiqui said a high-level inquiry committee later proposed tougher enforcement steps and that many of those recommendations are now being put into effect.

Cases and arrests

According to Siddiqui, the FIA has registered 2,421 cases since December 2024 as part of its action against organised trafficking networks and has arrested 3,130 suspected agents. He said authorities have also seized assets worth Rs961.71 million, recovered Rs87.7 million and frozen bank accounts holding Rs239.63 million.

"These figures reflect the scale and seriousness of human smuggling and trafficking in Pakistan," he added.

He said many passengers intercepted during screening were found to be travelling through suspicious routes or were linked to fake overseas employment offers, forged documents, fraudulent sponsorship arrangements or high-risk transit patterns associated with organised smuggling and trafficking networks.

To improve scrutiny at exit points, Siddiqui said the FIA’s Risk Analysis Unit has prepared five risk profiles to help immigration staff distinguish genuine travellers from passengers considered potentially high-risk. He added that these profiles are reviewed and updated from time to time.