FIA may tighten policy on deportees

KARACHI:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is likely to revise its policy regarding Pakistani citizens deported from abroad after being caught illegally migrating to other countries through networks of human smugglers.

According to sources, it has been proposed that deported individuals be declared victims only if they provide complete details about the agents who facilitated their illegal travel.

Sources said those who fail to share information about human smugglers may be treated as suspects, not victims. They said granting deported individuals unconditional victim status often leads them to re-establish contact with human traffickers.

Sources further said that, in light of proposals submitted by various FIA zones, there is a strong possibility that the policy will be amended in the near future.

On December 14, 2024 foreign media reported that a wooden boat carrying migrants capsized off the island of Gavdos in southern Greece, killing at least five Pakistanis.

Later, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a boat sailing about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker rescued another 88 migrants off the tiny island in Greece's south.

After the incidents, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to submit an investigation report on the incident, directing him to identify and round up the traffickers and ensure that they get strict punishment for their heinous crimes.

While chairing a meeting in Islamabad on December 20, 2024 Shehbaz also directed strict action against the FIA officials involved in facilitating human smugglers.

Later, the FIA launched a crackdown against human smugglers and traffickers across the country and rounded up dozens of suspects involved in the illegal business.

The government also tightened immigration process at airports to stop people suspected of using work permits and visit visas to later illegally migrate to European countries from leaving Pakistan. The policy was, however, strongly criticized.