KARACHI: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five suspects involved in smuggling citizens to Iran and Turkiye, the agency said on Saturday, amid an ongoing crackdown against human smugglers in the country.
The arrests were made by the FIA in Taftan and Loralai border towns of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, which shares a long porous border with Iran and Afghanistan.
The development comes amid a crackdown on agents involved in sending impoverished Pakistanis abroad through dangerous routes, luring them with a chance at a better life in Europe.
The arrested suspects, identified as Rasool Bacha, Aminullah, Hashmat Ali, Talib Hussain and Ehsanullah, worked for an agent, Faheem Gujjar, based in Iran, according to the FIA.
“The suspects Rasool Bacha, Aminullah and Hashmat Ali are involved in illegally transporting citizens to Iran and Turkiye,” the FIA said in a statement. “Talib Hussain and Ehsanullah were found involved in helping citizens illegally cross the border.”
The suspects had been on the ‘most-wanted list’ of Pakistani embassies in Iran and Turkiye, according to the FIA. They used to smuggle citizens from Pakistan to Iran, from where they would arrange for their travel further to Turkiye.
“Four innocent civilians were also rescued from the suspects’ house during the raid,” the FIA said.
The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests.
Last month, the FIA arrested five suspects in Punjab’s Gujranwala and Gujrat districts who were said to be involved in human smuggling and defrauding citizens.
Prior to that, the FIA said it had arrested an agent involved in the Morocco boat tragedy, in which dozens of Pakistanis attempting to travel illegally to Europe had drowned near the African country’s coast.
The boat had set off from Mauritania in January with 86 migrants on board, among them 66 Pakistanis, for the Canary Islands administered by Spain, international rights group Walking Borders had said. Moroccan authorities said on January
16 that 36 people were rescued from the vessel, while Pakistan confirmed survivors of the tragedy included 22 of its nationals.
A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024. Most of them died while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands, according to Walking Borders.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
