The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded 39,786 passengers in 2025 under what it called a lawful, intelligence-driven, and risk-based immigration system aimed at preventing irregular migration and human smuggling.
Immigration Additional Director General Nouman Siddiqui said the offloading of passengers is often criticized publicly, but the process is mainly designed to protect citizens from exploitation abroad, prevent loss of life, and safeguard Pakistan’s international image.
Speaking to a select group of senior journalists, Siddiqui said FIA decisions are not arbitrary and are based on immigration concerns, suspicious travel patterns, document verification, destination-country requirements, and established standard operating procedures.
He said the main objective is to protect human life and prevent people from falling into the hands of human traffickers.
The issue has gained urgency in recent years following several deadly incidents linked to illegal migration routes. According to FIA officials, around 460 Pakistanis have been affected by such incidents over the past three years, including at least 377 deaths.
Data from the International Organization for Migration also shows that 109 Pakistani nationals died in 2025 while attempting irregular migration.
Siddiqui said the June 2023 Greece boat tragedy, in which a large number of Pakistani migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea, led to stricter enforcement measures. A high-level inquiry committee formed by the prime minister after the incident recommended tougher action, many parts of which are now being implemented.
As part of the crackdown, the FIA has registered 2,421 cases since December 2024 and arrested 3,130 agents involved in human smuggling and trafficking networks. Authorities have also seized property worth Rs. 961.71 million, recovered Rs. 87.7 million, and frozen bank accounts worth Rs. 239.63 million.
“These figures reflect the scale and seriousness of human smuggling and trafficking in Pakistan,” Siddiqui said.
Officials said many passengers were found traveling through suspicious routes, fake overseas employment schemes, forged documents, fraudulent sponsorships, or high-risk transit patterns linked to organized smuggling networks.
To improve screening, the FIA’s Risk Analysis Unit has developed five risk profiles to help immigration officers distinguish suspected travelers from genuine passengers. These profiles are reviewed and updated periodically.
According to the agency, the measures have helped reduce deportations related to beggary by 75 percent and deportations linked to forgery by 31 percent. Overall deportations from different countries also fell by 16 percent in 2025 compared with 2024.
The FIA also cited Frontex data showing a 64 percent reduction in illegal border crossings into Europe by Pakistani nationals during the first two months of 2025-26.
Siddiqui clarified that offloaded passengers fall into two categories. The first includes those offloaded by FIA on immigration or risk grounds. The second includes passengers not offloaded by FIA, such as cases involving airline issues, technical faults, flight cancellations, bad weather, self-offloading, seasonal border closures, or requests from other departments.
Apart from the 39,786 passengers offloaded by FIA in 2025, another 34,688 passengers were offloaded for non-FIA reasons. These included airline-related disruptions and arrests requested by Customs, the Anti-Narcotics Force, the Airport Security Force, and police.
A report submitted to the Senate stated that at least 132 passengers were offloaded from their scheduled flights at different airports during the past year by FIA immigration officers, while 85 FIA officials were penalized for misuse of authority during the same period.
Separately, a National Assembly standing committee was told in December that at least 51,000 passengers were offloaded at airports in 2025 after failing immigration checks, with many of them stopped at Lahore and Karachi airports.
To reduce inconvenience for genuine travelers, FIA Immigration has established pre-departure facilitation desks at zonal offices, where passengers can verify their travel documents before buying tickets.
Passengers who believe they were offloaded because of a misunderstanding or incomplete information can approach the concerned border checkpost in-charge for immediate review. If found eligible, they are allowed to travel. A 24/7 helpline has also been set up for complaints and facilitation.
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Not surprised. There are even reports that FIA employees did this in conjunction with airline staff where they were overbooked. Culprits must be punished with long sentences and there faces should be put on media. Mohsin Naqvi should also be answerable for this.