ISLAMABAD: As the number of Pakistanis leaving the country seeking jobs abroad continued to increase with their frequent deaths in boat/ship accidents, many black sheep in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have been found involved in helping human smugglers.
After the latest boat tragedies near Morocco and Greece in which scores of Pakistanis died, an investigation has been launched against 20 FIA officials. It is alleged that these FIA officials had cleared the documents of the Pakistanis allowing them to proceed abroad. According to the FIA, an investigation has been launched against eight officials deployed at Faisalabad Airport, six others, who are under investigation, were posted to the Jinnah International Airport Karachi and six personnel were working at Lahore Airport. Officials in the FIA said that Mauritania was the third and newest route for human trafficking after Turkey and Libya. Groups involved in human trafficking camped in Mauritania in March 2024, the first safe houses in Mauritania and the transportation of people began in June towards Europe.