ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday said it offloaded three passengers at Karachi airport who were attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on forged documents.

The development is part of the continued crackdown undertaken by Pakistani authorities on illegal immigration and human smuggling. Pakistan reported a 47 percent drop in illegal immigration to Europe this year, with more than 1,700 human smugglers arrested.

The country intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of people, including its own nationals, lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach European shores in an overcrowded vessel that sank off the Greek coast.

“The passengers were identified as Aamir, Ali Hussain, and Ijaz,” the FIA spokesperson said in a statement.

“The passengers have been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal action.”

The FIA added that Aamir was attempting to travel to the UAE on a visit visa using a fake Ukrainian resident card he paid Rs1 million ($3,571) to obtain.

Hussain was traveling to Saudi Arabia on a work permit using a fake driving license he paid a huge sum of money for, it continued.

The agency added Ijaz was also traveling to Saudi Arabia with a fake Qatari visa on his passport for which he paid Rs300,000 ($1,071).

The issue of illegal immigration and its consequences have gained significant attention in Pakistan following the arrest of several Pakistani and foreign nationals at airports with forged documents in recent years.

In September, the FIA released a list of more than 100 of the country’s “most wanted” human smugglers and identified major trafficking hubs across the country’s most populous Punjab province and Islamabad.

Earlier in December, Pakistan announced it would roll out an Artificial Intelligence-based immigration screening system in Islamabad from January next year to detect forged travel documents and prevent illegal departures.