ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned that people with incomplete travel documents and professional beggars won’t be allowed to travel abroad, state media reported on Sunday, as reports emerge of passengers being offloaded at various airports across the country.
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said earlier this week that over 66,000 passengers had been offloaded from Pakistani airports this year over suspected irregular travel, while tens of thousands were deported from Gulf states and other countries amid a broader crackdown on illegal migration.
Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on illegal migration after 2023 when hundreds of people, including its own nationals, died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean in an overcrowded fishing vessel that sank off the Greek coast, prompting widespread outrage and scrutiny of smuggling networks. Islamabad has also recently dealt with several cases of Pakistani citizens misusing their Umrah visas to beg for money in Saudi Arabia.
“Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi says professional beggars and people traveling with incomplete documents will not be allowed to go abroad” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The minister was speaking to passengers during his visit to the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. He was accompanied by Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudry.
Naqvi said those who “bring a bad name to Pakistan” will face strict action.
He clarified that no passenger will be stopped from traveling without a valid reason.
“The interior minister said the dignity of Pakistan and facilitation of passengers are his top priorities,” the state broadcaster said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a committee earlier this month, led by the federal minister for overseas Pakistanis, to streamline immigration procedures and probe cases of passengers being offloaded arbitrarily.
Sharif also reviewed enforcement measures during a high-level government meeting on Saturday that was aimed at curbing human smuggling and illegal immigration. Officials highlighted a 47 percent decline in illegal migration to Europe from the country during the meeting, following intensified screening at departure points.
“In taking action against those traveling illegally or holding suspicious travel documents, special care must be taken to ensure that passengers with valid documents are not affected,” the prime minister said, according to a statement issued by his office.
