ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has tasked Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with monitoring overseas job advertisements in a new effort to crack down on human trafficking, the agency said on Saturday.
Islamabad has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration and human trafficking after multiple boat tragedies and the arrest of several Pakistani and foreign nationals at airports with forged documents in recent years.
During a visit to the FIA headquarters, officials briefed Naqvi about compilation of data of individuals involved in human trafficking to target fraudulent recruitment schemes that lure citizens with false promises of overseas employment.
“All job advertisements abroad should be monitored online and public awareness should be ensured about misleading advertisements,” Naqvi was quoted as telling FIA officials.
The development came more than a week after the FIA foiled a bid to smuggle over 30 women out of the country and arrested four suspects in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last year said his government was cracking down on organized networks involved in illegal immigration and human smuggling, urging the public to use safe, legal channels for travel, employment and immigration abroad.
FIA Director General Dr. Usman Anwar informed Interior Minister Naqvi about the FIA’s use of modern technology for effective action against human trafficking and money laundering, according to the agency.
Naqvi assured full support to the FIA and promised to establish the agency as a “vanguard against all types of organized crimes.”
