ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed on Wednesday that 51,000 passengers were offloaded at Pakistani airports this year after failing immigration checks, with most cases reported at Lahore and Karachi airports.
The briefing was given during a meeting of the committee chaired by Aga Rafiullah, amid growing concern over passengers being denied boarding despite possessing valid travel documents. The issue gained prominence following a nationwide crackdown on migrant smuggling launched after the 2024 Greece boat tragedy that claimed several Pakistani lives.
Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Riffat Mukhtar Raja told the committee that a total of 66,000 passengers were offloaded during the year, of whom 51,000 were stopped by the FIA due to insufficient or unverified documentation.
“Passengers are offloaded based on document verification, data checks and online authentication,” the DG FIA said, adding that many travellers lacked complete information regarding their educational courses, universities or overseas employment.
He said several passengers attempted to travel through agents using incomplete or incorrect details, particularly under visit, Umrah and work visa categories. During the year, 8.5 million Pakistanis travelled abroad, while 226 cases were registered for various immigration-related offences.
Raja informed the panel that 180 FIA officials involved in corruption had been dismissed and that all major airports had been linked to NADRA’s online database to strengthen immigration controls. He stressed that no passenger had been cleared under political influence or VIP pressure.
The committee was also told that cameras had been installed at immigration counters and monitoring was being carried out from the central control room. The immigration system, he said, now uses artificial intelligence to flag suspicious cases in advance.
Over the past three months, 450 individuals were arrested while attempting to illegally cross into Iran, while several Bangladeshi nationals were intercepted attempting to travel to Europe via Pakistan on tourist visas, the DG FIA added.
He further revealed that 287 people were deported last year and 170 this year for using fake documents, while 24,000 individuals accused of begging were deported from Saudi Arabia during the current year.
Secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry informed the committee that Saudi Arabia was set to receive $1 trillion in investment under Vision 2030, creating significant employment opportunities. He said 451,000 Pakistanis travelled to Saudi Arabia last year, while more than 500,000 have gone during the current year.
Committee chairman Aga Rafiullah criticised the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission for poor performance, while committee member Muhammad Ilyas Chaudhry questioned the provision of drivers to community welfare attachés posted in Europe, highlighting the financial burden of assigning drivers to Grade 17 and 18 officers.
Earlier this month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reiterated that passengers with complete and genuine travel documents were not being stopped, while those carrying incomplete or bogus documents would not be allowed to travel.
In November, the FIA had clarified that offloading or denial of boarding only occurs when passengers lack valid documentation or are suspected of involvement in migrant smuggling, adding that legal action had also been initiated against those spreading false information on social media regarding the issue.
