KARACHI, Feb 12: Five anti-trafficking units (ATUs) have been set up in the Federal Investigation Agency to monitor the investigation in to human trafficking.

While talking to Dawn, the newly-appointed director general of the FIA said four ATUs were established in the provinces and one in Islamabad. "The ATUs will also co-ordinated with the provincial police authorities to contain the menace of the human smuggling", he said.

The FIA DG Tariq Pervez, who was earlier posted as additional inspector general of police, Punjab, said he established the ATUs in the last week of the January after assuming his new assignment.

He said the units would also investigate high profile cases of trafficking and they would also be sort of watchdog on the FIA's Passport Circles in the four provinces. "These units will also monitor the overall performance of the Passport Circles and send reports to the agency's head quarters", he said. Tariq Parvez said the FIA also suggested to the Federal authorities to set up ATUs in the police departments of the four provinces so that integrated efforts would made against the traffickers.

He said each ATU would be headed by an assistant director with a law officer and six to seven investigators. "The units will also maintain a close liaison with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the victims", he added.

"We will shortly put on our official website a list of fake recruitment agents who have been charge-sheeted for the convenience of the intending jobseekers", he said.

The FIA chief said the agency was also trying to get a toll-free helpline for public assistance and to cater their complaints. "A jobseeker will be able to check the genuineness of the recruitment agents either through helpline or at our website", he said.

He warned that a strict action would be taken against those personnel who were found involved in the human trafficking.

To a question he said the procedure at the immigration counters of the FIA at airports was being further improved. "The immigration staff has been strictly instructed to remain courteous with the people and reduce the time of clearance of flights", he said.

The DG said he had ordered the immigration staff that the decision to offload a passenger should no be arbitrary. "Only the assistant director is authorised to take final decision in case of offloading", he said.

He said the immigration staff at the airports were now sending daily reports of the offloaded passengers to the FIA head quarters. "The daily reports on offloaded passengers also contain the reasons of offloading and the contact numbers of an offloaded passenger", he said.

The DG said the system would further decrease the chances of harassment to the passengers at the hand of the immigration staff.

To another question, the DG stated that an FIA check post would shortly be set up at Turbat to check the human smuggling via Balochistan.

Tariq Pavez said the FIA's Special Investigation Group would soon be expanded so that intergrated efforts would be made to counter terrorism. "There are only 40 officers in the SIG across the country", he said.

The DG said the SIG could be very effective in the investigation of terrorism-related cases if a close liaison between it and the local police was maintained. "The SIG investigators have an expertise of examination of scene of terrorism and it should be immediately involved in the investigation so that vital clues are not lost", he said.