Airport checks tightened to curb illegal emigration

The federal authorities have ordered strict monitoring at the airports of the passengers as part of the efforts to contain illegal emigration by the Pakistanis in the wake of back-to-back shipwreck incidents that took lives of scores of people in the European seas.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), through a directive to the immigration authorities at the airport to particularly monitor the passengers from nine cities of the country, those going to 15 countries, and those using two airlines for their flights.

Scores of illegal immigrants, including several Pakistanis have died in shipwreck accidents in the recent past while trying to reach Europe. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken strict notice of those accidents and ordered the FIA to launch a crackdown against human smugglers.

The FIA used its data of the outgoing passengers and the victims of the tragedies to draw a pattern. Based on that data analysis, it has been determined that most of the emigrants, aged between 15-40 years, came from nine cities, and used two airlines and 15 countries as transit for their onward journey.

In this regard, the FIA Headquarters has issued an advisory to all the deputy directors of immigration across the country, directing the staff at the airports to keep strict check on such passengers, including scrutiny of their documents and backgrounds.

The 15 red-flagged destinations are Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Kenya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Mauritania, Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan. The nine red-flagged cities are Mandi Bahauddin, Gujarat, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Bhimber, Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura.