ISLAMABAD, Dec 8: The government has formulated a National Action Plan (NAP) to combat human smuggling and illegal immigration, a senior official of interior ministry told Dawn on Thursday. The official said the plan was imperative for any country to improve its status in the international rating of the US State Department on human smuggling and illegal immigration.

The action plan is being launched in a ceremony to be held at a local hotel on Monday. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao would be the chief guest at the function that would also be attended by the ambassadors of the United States, European Union, Canada, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Oman and other countries.

Currently, Pakistan is stated to be in Tier-II, as it has recently been removed from Tier-II Watch List of the US State Department. Formation of NAP is required for any country to come in Tier-I.

Elaborating the characteristics of the NAP, the official said the plan encompassed legislation, prevention (prosecution), administrative measures and public awareness.

The plan was formulated in the light of studies and surveys of local and international organisations like Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and other stakeholders.

“It is a policy document which will help recognition of government’s efforts to curb human smuggling at international level,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao presided over a meeting to oversee how to combat the menace at Pakistan-Iran border, the official said.

The meeting was attended by the high-ups of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Frontier Corps (FC), Balochistan Police, Pakistan Coast Guards, Levis and Rangers.

The interior minister would proceed to Athens next week to attend a quadrilateral conference on human smuggling. The conference would be attended by Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece.