Pakistan’s top investigation agency plans foreign presence to curb human trafficking

(Photo courtesy: Associated Press of Pakistan)

ISLAMABAD: A senior veteran officer at Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed to Arab News that it is reviving its foreign presence footprint to counter human trafficking and criminal syndicates involving Pakistanis.
The FIA has placed an advertisement to induct up to 3,000 personnel for training and deployment at offices it intends to establish in Greece and Iran, said the officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media about the agency’s policy.
“We had presence in Interpol in Paris back in the 1990s and offices in the Middle East and Turkey, but for political reasons they were closed. The plan to set up offices overseas may not completely curb trafficking and criminal activity, however. The objective is to reduce it to the minimal level,” he said.
The FIA has sought assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appoint officers at deputy director level and support staff in Greece and Iran following a tragic incident off the coast of Libya where a boat capsized carrying mostly illegal immigrants from Pakistan in January, leaving several people dead.
“Eleven dead bodies of Pakistani nationals, who died in the tragic boat incident in Libya, arrived” in Islamabad on Feb. 14, 15 days after the accident, said the Foreign Office in a statement.
Mohammed Faisal, Foreign Office spokesman, said it was high time the FIA launched a campaign to spread awareness in Pakistan for people to gauge the consequences of illegal immigration.
Faisal said: “The most important thing is to stop young people from going abroad, especially to Europe, by boats illegally.” The exact number of illegal travelers from Pakistan is unknown.