Offloading aimed at illegal migration, not genuine travel: FIA cheif

ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency Director General Dr Usman Anwar said on Monday that the offloading of passengers is being carried out as a legal and preventive step in cases where authorities detect credible risk indicators, and is not intended to hinder legitimate travel.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Dr Anwar said the purpose of the measure was to allow lawful movement while also protecting citizens, saving lives, disrupting organised criminal groups and safeguarding Pakistan’s international standing. He said the FIA had stepped up intelligence-based screening of passengers at international airports as part of a broader effort against irregular migration.

In his remarks, the FIA chief said illegal migration through Malawi had been reduced to zero, while irregular movement towards the European Union fell by 64 per cent in early 2026. He said the action was focused on human smuggling, trafficking and misuse of visas, and was designed to shield people from exploitation and the risks linked to unsafe migration routes.

Dr Anwar told reporters that Belarus, Cyprus, Central Asian countries and some Eastern European transit corridors had increasingly been used by organised human smuggling networks for onward illegal migration to Europe. He added that Malawi also emerged as a high-risk transit hub in 2025.

According to Dr Anwar, criminal facilitators target vulnerable people by offering false assurances related to employment, education, settlement and legal migration. He said the FIA’s response was meant to prevent people from falling into situations involving detention, deportation, trafficking and even loss of life.

The FIA’s Annual Risk Analysis Report 2025, cited by the director general, identified cyber-trafficking in Southeast Asia, organised migrant smuggling networks, and transit migration through Eastern Europe and Central Asia as major threats. The report also recorded a growing trend of migration and deportation involving Central Asian countries among young residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as hotspot districts in Punjab.

Dr Anwar said offloading was being used only in cases where risk indicators were present, describing it as a targeted measure within the FIA’s wider campaign against trafficking and irregular migration.