The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued its first travel advisory in 20 years, as part of efforts to combat human trafficking.
The FIA headquarters has sent a letter to deputy directors of immigration across the country, ordering strict monitoring of passengers from 15 countries, 9 cities of Pakistan and two airlines.
For the first time, the notice focuses on strengthening monitoring of passengers aged 15 to 40 traveling abroad. Strict checks have been ordered for young passengers traveling with FlyDubai and Ethiopian Airlines.
Passengers arriving from Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Kenya, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt must be subject to further screening.
The letter also includes profiling of passengers from Libya, Iran, Mauritania, Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan. These 15 countries were used by the Pakistanis as transit points for human trafficking to Europe.
The movement of passengers with tourist, religious or educational visas to these countries is under review. The opinion was prepared based on the analysis of the IBMS database from July to December.
According to the advisory, passengers from Mandi Bahauddin, Gujarat, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Bimber should be closely monitored. Passenger profiling measures from Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura are also expected to be strengthened.
A thorough review of return tickets, hotel reservations and all documents was ordered. Particular attention should be given to documents relating to visit or tourist visas. Suspicious passengers should be questioned about the purpose of their trip and their financial arrangements.
FIA officials stressed that detailed records of suspicious passengers must be kept and any irregularities must be reported immediately.
Earlier, the FIA on Friday claimed to have foiled a major human trafficking attempt at Islamabad airport under the cover of Umrah visas, by disembarking and arresting five people, including a 16-year-old boy.
The suspects were attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia and Libya before traveling by sea to Italy. The Agency has already launched strict control procedures at airports and borders to combat human trafficking.
During one such check at Islamabad airport, immigration officials found that five suspected passengers, including Miraj Khan, Usman Khan, Asad Ali and Murtaza Ali, were traveling on Umrah visas to Saudi Saudi.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a coordinated and holistic approach to capture and punish those involved in human trafficking, assigning various tasks to the ministries of Justice, Interior, ‘Information and Foreign Affairs in this regard.
Chairing a meeting to review measures taken against human trafficking in the country, the Prime Minister appreciated the recent action taken by the FIA against officials involved in this heinous crime.