Says restrictions on the movement of beggars and illegal migrants; NA committee orders promulgation of clear SOPs
Inspector General of Police Sindh Riffat Mukhtar. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed to a parliamentary committee that it had disembarked 66,154 passengers this year to combat organized gangs of beggars and illegal immigrants traveling abroad.
“The increase in offloading is multi-faceted,” FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar told the National Assembly’s standing committee on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development, chaired by Syed Rafiullah, on Wednesday.
The meeting was convened to review the growing phenomenon of passengers being prevented from boarding flights and the role and performance of the Community Welfare Attachés (CWA) network in protecting overseas Pakistanis.
During the meeting, DG FIA briefed the committee on the operational realities at ports of exit.
The FIA director general said that 51,000 of these people were arrested due to the questionable veracity of their travel documents divided into three main categories: work visas, tourist visas and Umrah visas.
He pointed out that illegal immigration and begging networks seriously harm Pakistan’s international image. He reported that 56,000 beggars have been expelled from Saudi Arabia while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also imposed visa restrictions in the face of the phenomenon.
Mukhtar said illegal migration trends had been observed towards Africa, and even regarding tourist visas to countries like Cambodia and Thailand. The FIA official defended the strict measures needed to combat human trafficking and protect Pakistan’s international reputation.
He stressed that the increase in unloading is a countermeasure against fraudulent migration networks, revealing that 56,000 people involved in organized begging were recently deported from Saudi Arabia.
He pointed to increasing restrictions imposed by the United Arab Emirates and new illegal migration routes to Africa and Europe as factors warranting increased vigilance.
Committee members praised the enforcement work, but stressed that enforcement must be coupled with an accessible redress channel so that genuine travelers wrongly discharged can obtain rapid relief.
He asked the FIA and the Ministry of Interior to finalize, issue and implement a clear SOP for offloading and a visible complaint mechanism at the airport.
The panel was informed that a risk analysis unit has been established and a mobile application “IMMI” is being developed to improve pre-departure screening and real-time monitoring of immigration counters.
Members insisted on immediate interoperability between FIA systems and the Protectorate/E-Protector platform so that boarding authorization verification and checks are carried out before passengers reach the airport counter.
The president stressed that the public must be informed of how a passenger can challenge an unloading decision and that contact details and an online complaint form must be displayed at all airports.
Social Protection Attaché (CWA)
The ministry presented the CWA network briefing.
Members received a comprehensive briefing on the legal basis of CWAs, the merit-based selection process, KPIs and the ministry’s expansion plan to restore and add CWA wings at priority stations.
The committee noted in detail feedback from the Gulf region: CWAs reported having collectively handled over 55,000 welfare cases in 2025, including over 30,000 assisted repatriations/ETDs, over 3,400 death-related interventions and thousands of prison visits and legal aid interventions.
The committee praised these achievements, but also recorded persistent operational constraints: confiscation of passports by employers, employer resistance to collection of dues, host country legal limitations, language barriers, and low awareness of remote labor camps.
He stressed that these constraints must be overcome through bilateral engagement and capacity building within the mission.
Regarding the performance of the Gulf region, members highlighted remarkable results – rapid issuance of emergency travel documents, targeted repatriations and coordinated legal support – while insisting on better prevention (pre-departure orientation and validation of contracts), better employer engagement and a dedicated legal aid group in mission posts to expedite legal remedies.
The committee directed the ministry to provide comprehensive reports on each station’s performance for each Gulf CWA, including case-level summaries, staff lists and resource requests, and to present a prioritized plan for the next ten new stations considered in the presentation.
