ISLAMABAD, May 27: The embassy of Pakistan in Greece has warned of a diplomatic disaster in the making as an estimated 10,000 illegal immigrants taken to Turkey by a gang of Pakistani human smugglers are likely to be pushed into Greece and Italy, possibly between now and September.

Since the alarm raised by the Pakistani mission in Athens, security agencies and relevant ministries have been treating it as a crisis situation, but so far no strategy has been worked out to counter the smugglers’ moves.

This is by far the biggest challenge related to human smuggling that the Pakistani security agencies are facing outside the country, as never before such a large number of people were illegally taken to a country with the aim of pushing them into Europe.

The crisis has been compounded with the revelation -- based on documents available with Dawn -- that the gang involved in such a major criminal act included not only a few influential people in Pakistan, but it is part of a network linked to powerful gangs behind hum smuggling in Iran, Turkey and Greece. It is learnt that the Pakistani mission in Athens has told the authorities in Islamabad that, based on information provided by some illegal immigrants, it had reasons to believe that a few police officials in Greece were also part of the network. These officials allegedly helped in providing safe passage, including the safety of armoured vehicles, to illegal immigrants.

The alarm about the new influx of illegal immigrants was raised following a recent relaxation in Greek immigration rules, which the smugglers considered to be a golden opportunity to push more people through the Turkish border into Europe.

It is also learnt that among measures recently announced by the Greek government, illegal immigrants whose applications had earlier been rejected by local authorities for want of sufficient proof of their arrival in Greece before Dec 31, 2004, were now eligible to apply afresh.

Secondly, illegal immigrants married to a Greek national or an alien residing legally in Greece before the date are also eligible to apply again. Similarly, parents of children enrolled in government schools in Greece before this date are also permitted to apply. The new rules also apply to parents of children born in Greece before Dec 31, 2004.

It is not clear how many of these illegal immigrants have attempted to cross the border since the Pakistani mission started communicating with Islamabad and if any of them has been apprehended.

However, the Pakistani mission in Athens has pointed out that even if these illegal immigrants manage to slip into Greece, they will not be able to benefit from the new rules, which are meant for people already living there for several years. The embassy’s real worry is that these people are likely to create major problems for the Pakistani mission and the country by their illegal and unauthorised presence in Greece.

Information about the network, with particular reference to the present crisis, makes a disturbing reading about the extent of the gang’s influence, and how it has so far managed to manipulate systems right from Pakistan to Turkey, and even in Greece to continue to send illegal immigrants.

Upon entering in Greece, illegal immigrants are transported to Athens in vehicles resembling Greek army vehicles. Another illegal immigrant said that the vehicle in which he and other members of his group were travelling to Turkish/Greek border stopped at a certain place and a man wearing Turkish army uniform boarded the bus and helped them in leaving Turkey.

Investigation of cases of illegal immigration and human trafficking has revealed that smugglers use various methods to send people to and from Pakistan.

Islamabad was informed that the human smuggling mafia had been exploiting the weaknesses of the law-enforcement system in the four countries.

It was also informed that there had been a decrease in human smuggling after the arrest of Javed Aslam Arain in October 2006 through Interpol. After his arrest, his operation stopped and he plunged into a financial crisis.

However, he resumed his activities and a request for his extradition was turned down by a court of appeals in Athens.

This time a considerable surge in human smuggling from Pakistan to Turkey was witnessed and the operation appeared to be well-funded.

The Pakistani ambassador in Athens suggested that apart from taking other measures, the FIA should appoint a liaison officer there to curb human smuggling in a professional manner. The embassy also said that the FIA presence in Greece had now become more important after the posting of a police liaison officer at the Greek Embassy in Islamabad.