'Pakistan ready to take back illegal migrants entering EU'

Pakistani citizens, along with Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis are among the largest migrant groups to arrive in the bloc

Pakistan has expressed its readiness to take back its citizens who have entered the European Union illegally, in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan was committed to cooperating in this regard.



"[Pakistan expressed] readiness to cooperate. We already have bilateral agreements between EU and Pakistan for return and readmission. The point is the smooth implementation of the agreement, and I found readiness and willingness to cooperate in an operational way to make sure that returns are happening for real, and this is something that we will follow up in the coming weeks," Mogherini told reporters after a meeting with Pakistani National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz on Friday.



Pakistani citizens, together with Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis are among the largest migrant groups to arrive in the bloc. Over 710,000 migrants have arrived in Europe since the beginning of 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex. The massive crisis is growing as hundreds of thousands of people continue to flee conflict-torn regions, seeking asylum in the bloc.



Earlier this week, EU’s migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that he is set to visit Pakistan soon to discuss plans to send back Pakistani migrants who have made their way to Europe.

Further, there was a dramatic surge in the numbers of migrants – mainly from Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Africa – last month, seeking to leave Turkey by sea for Greece in the hope of finding new lives.

This article originally appeared on Sputnik news