ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iraq have resolved to enhance their cooperation in curbing illegal border travel between the two countries, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said on Friday.
The development comes nearly two months after Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said that tens of thousands of Pakistani nationals had overstayed their visas or gone "missing" in Iran, Iraq and Syria over the past decade.
Thousands of Pakistanis, mostly Shias, travel to these countries annually to visit religious shrines. In July, the Pakistani government said it was restricting road travel to Iran and Iraq and abolishing the decades-old Salar system, under which private caravan leaders managed pilgrim travel.
The FIA said on Friday that a high-level delegation from Iraq visited its headquarters in Islamabad, where it was briefed about the FIA's measures to verify travel documents, detect forgery and support litigation in travel-related offences as part of border management mechanisms.
"The Head of the Iraqi delegation expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and comprehensive technical briefing, noting that the visit had provided valuable insights into Pakistan’s modern border management practices," the FIA said.
"He reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to further strengthening cooperation between the border management agencies of both countries."
Pakistan previously had no formal structure for people to travel to Iran and Iraq for religious purposes. Although a system was approved in 2021 to organize these pilgrimages, but little progress was made on its implementation.
Islamabad has since introduced a new, centralized system for organizing pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Last month, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said it had issued certificates to 24 authorized Ziarat Group Organizers (ZGOs) for pilgrimages to Iran, Iraq and Syria, saying these companies would provide travel, accommodation, food and other facilities to devotees.
