The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis met in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Agha Rafiullah, where the issue of offloading Pakistani passengers at airports came under detailed discussion. Officials briefed the committee on trends, enforcement mechanisms, and challenges faced by immigration authorities.
The Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed the committee that 51,000 people were offloaded during the current year. He disclosed that deportations were largely linked to begging and misuse of visas, with Saudi Arabia deporting 24,000 Pakistanis, Dubai 6,000, and Azerbaijan 2,500 on charges of begging.
The DG FIA said several passengers attempted to travel to Europe under the guise of Umrah, but were offloaded after documentary evidence revealed possession of European travel documents. He added that offloading decisions were based on documentation, data, and online verification, not on political or VIP pressure.
The committee was told that due to strict measures against illegal travel, Pakistan’s passport ranking improved from 118 to 92. Authorities stated that Pakistan has exited the list of top five countries involved in illegal migration to Europe, with illegal departures expected to fall from 8,000 last year to 4,000 this year.
