LAHORE, July 2: The Federal Investigation Agency's immigration cell and various airlines have introduced "certain new measures" to check illegal travelling to the developed countries through eastern Europe.

Under the new measures, the passengers having student and visit visas must have a return ticket and at least $1,000 hard cash before boarding a flight to eastern Europe.

Besides the validity of travel documents, a student visa would also be scrutinized to make sure that there was congruity between domestic and foreign education courses. For example, an under-matriculation, aspiring to take admission abroad for a higher education diploma, would be thoroughly examined by the authorities concerned. The immigration authorities and various airlines have so far stopped a number of those passengers, who failed to meet these conditions, from travelling to the eastern Europe, though their documents were legal.

There are complaints that some of the immigration officials are subverting the process to help illegal travellers board flights. Sources said the agency had taken the decision on reports that human smuggling mafia and individuals had adopted new modus operandi to reach developed countries.

Cyprus, Ukraine, Botsawana, Malawi, Belarus, Malta, Estonia, Libya and Turkey were the main destinations where Pakistanis tried to reach through western Europe, they said.

Imtiaz Ahmad of Faisalabad, who had not done his matriculation, went to Cyprus after acquiring student visa for doing a two-year course in fashion designing. He had paid Rs350,000 to Faisal Javed, a human smuggler, to reach Greece from Cyprus. However, he was captured while attempting to enter Greece and was deported.

Mukhtar Ahmad Pasha, a resident of Narowal who had hardly any educational background, reached Ukraine on a student visa and he subsequently paid $6,000 to a Pakistani travel agent there for moving to the UK. He also failed in his attempt and was deported.

A senior FIA official told this reporter on Friday that Imtiaz and Mukhtar were among several people, who had gone to the less-developed countries in a bid to reach the developed ones.

He said the documents of such passengers were (apparently) genuine, but they obtained visas by giving false information. He hoped that these measures would help control human smuggling. Meanwhile, the national and foreign airlines are said to be taking measures to check the transportation of 'inadmissible' passengers to avoid heavy fines.