FIA Chief Defends Offloading as Preventive Measure Amid Crackdown on Human Smuggling
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has defended its practice of offloading passengers at airports as a lawful and preventive measure, while revealing that it has taken action against more than 100 of its own officials for collusion with human smugglers since the 2023 Greece boat tragedy. The disclosures came in separate briefings to reporters and parliamentary committees, as reported by Dawn.
The FIA’s Director General, Dr Usman Anwar, told reporters on Monday that offloading is used only where credible risk indicators exist, describing it as a “lawful, preventive, and protective measure.” He emphasized that the objective is to facilitate lawful travel while protecting citizens from exploitation, detention, and loss of life on dangerous migration routes. The remarks were in response to criticism that the agency has been overly restrictive on genuine travelers.
According to FIA statistics shared with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control on Tuesday, the agency offloaded 39,786 passengers in 2025, and 22,136 passengers in the early months of 2026, after strict risk-based assessments. The number of deportations fell from 68,877 in 2024 to 57,560 in 2025, and cases involving fake or forged documents dropped sharply from 281 in 2024 to just 13 so far in 2026.
Dr Anwar attributed these declines to intensified intelligence-led screening at international airports. He said the measures have brought illegal migration through Malawi to “zero” and cut irregular flows to the European Union by 64 percent in early 2026. The agency has identified Belarus, Cyprus, Central Asian states, and certain Eastern European transit corridors as routes increasingly exploited by organized smuggling networks, according to its Annual Risk Analysis Report 2025. Malawi also emerged as a high-risk transit hub last year.
The crackdown gained urgency after the June 2023 Greece boat tragedy, in which at least 209 people drowned and hundreds more were feared dead or missing when an overloaded vessel sank in the Mediterranean. Over the past three years, around 460 Pakistanis have died attempting irregular migration, with 109 deaths recorded in 2025 alone, according to data from the International Organisation for Migration cited by FIA officials.
In a briefing to the parliamentary committee, Dr Anwar said the FIA has initiated 132 enquiries against its own officials for failing to follow standard profiling procedures, resulting in 68 major and 36 minor penalties. This action, he said, was part of efforts to root out collusion with smugglers within the agency.
International partners have raised concerns about Pakistan’s role in illegal migration. Dr Anwar noted that Pakistan is the third-largest recipient of UK student visas, but around 10,000 individuals misuse these visas through asylum claims. Eight UK universities have reportedly restricted student visa sponsorships for Bangladeshi students, while the UK has imposed restrictions on visa issuance for several countries, citing study visa abuse. High-level EU delegations have also flagged illegal crossings from Belarus into Poland, with 580 Pakistanis reportedly not returning from that route.
FIA officials stressed that the offloading policy is not intended to restrict genuine travel but to protect citizens from the risks of irregular migration. The agency’s annual risk analysis lists Southeast Asian cyber-trafficking, organized migrant smuggling, and transit migration through Eastern Europe and Central Asia as critical threats. It also noted a rising trend of migration and deportation to Central Asian countries among young residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and hotspot districts of Punjab.
While the FIA’s data shows significant declines in deportations and fake document cases, the agency acknowledges that smuggling networks continue to adapt, exploiting new routes and luring vulnerable individuals with false promises of jobs, education, and settlement. Officials say ongoing vigilance and international cooperation remain essential to curbing the trade and preventing further loss of life.