Offloaded or offhanded?

There is now official confirmation of what travellers have been complaining about for months. The FIA has told a parliamentary committee that it offloaded 66,154 passengers this year in an effort to curb illegal migration and organised begging rings. What was initially justified as a targeted crackdown after last year's Greece boat tragedy has, in practice, expanded into a sweeping exercise of discretion that continues to ensnare genuine travellers.

According to the FIA, more than 51,000 passengers were stopped over questions surrounding the veracity of their work, tourism and Umrah visas. The agency argues that such measures are unavoidable, pointing to the deportation of some 56,000 Pakistani beggars from Saudi Arabia and the emergence of new illegal routes to Africa, Cambodia and Thailand. There is no denying that illegal migration has damaged Pakistan's international standing but this alone does not make a case for indiscriminate mass-scale enforcement.

In Karachi, dozens of passengers have been offloaded in single sweeps. Lahore has seen similar episodes. Chambers of commerce have raised alarms over legitimate business travellers being stopped despite holding visas already scrutinised by foreign embassies. Deportees returning from Europe and the Gulf report being subjected to suspicion. Such pattern resembles a dragnet that treats legality as provisional.

This practice must immediately be revised through clear SOPs paired with a rapid, accessible redressal mechanism. Technology, too, should be held up as part of the solution through the creation of a risk-analysis unit and the development of a mobile application for pre-departure screening and real-time monitoring. Steps taken by FIA are welcome, but all the checks need to be completed before passengers reach airport counters. Decisions taken minutes before boarding, with no time or forum for appeal, are almost designed to be arbitrary.

Blanket suspicion undermines confidence in legal mobility and feeds the very desperation that smugglers exploit. Pakistan's image abroad will not be repaired by humiliating lawful travellers at home.