ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday said it offloaded three passengers at Karachi airport who were attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on forged documents.
The development is part of the continued crackdown undertaken by Pakistani authorities on illegal immigration and human smuggling. Pakistan reported a 47 percent drop in illegal immigration to Europe this year, with more than 1,700 human smugglers arrested.
The country intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of people, including its own nationals, lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach European shores in an overcrowded vessel that sank off the Greek coast.
“The passengers were identified as Aamir, Ali Hussain, and Ijaz,” the FIA spokesperson said in a statement.
“The passengers have been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal action.”
