‘34,786 illegal’ Pakistani migrants deported in 2022

The National Assembly on Wednesday was informed that more than 34,786 Pakistanis, who left the country through illegal means, were deported last year.

According to the interior ministry’s report presented in the House on human smuggling, Pakistanis, who could no longer put up with the rising poverty rate, unemployment, and low wages, were smuggled out of the country through the routes of Iran, Turkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Siberia, and Ukraine.

The document disclosed that Pakistanis also travelled to Libya, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. The ministry’s report further stated that 2,016 Pakistanis travelling using fake documents were identified and cases registered against 971 of them.

On the identification of the Pakistanis rounded up for using fake documents to travel, 104 smugglers and agents were arrested. Similarly, seven airline staffers involved in facilitating travel on fake documents were also arrested.

According to the interior ministry, several measures were taken to prevent the smuggling of refugees and migrants from 2020 to April 2023. Under these steps, 470 human traffickers were arrested, 364 sentenced and cases registered against 889.

According to another official report, more than 400,000 highly-qualified young Pakistanis went abroad in a desperate search of employment during the first six months of the current year.

Meanwhile, More than 385 Pakistanis, including children, were rescued from the captivity of human traffickers in Libya, it was reported on Wednesday.

According to details, these Pakistani immigrants were held by human traffickers for ransom and were rescued by security authorities in eastern Libya through raids at their warehouse.

According to Al-Abreen, a group that helps migrants in Libya, the Pakistani nationals were released from traffickers' warehouse in the Al-Khair area, which is about eight kilometers south of the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, earlier this week.

In a post on its official Facebook page, the group said the migrants, including children, were later transferred to a nearby police headquarters.

It was also reported that these Pakistani migrants arrived in Libya with the intention of going to Europe but were detained by traffickers.