RAWALPINDI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has asked the authorities concerned across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Quetta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to process the cases of the individuals for placement on the Exit Control List (ECL) or Passport Control List (PCL) in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, through respective home department.

“Once it is processed through respective home departments, the FIA immigration authorities will be able to apprehend the required individuals, if they trigger the Integrated Border Management System at Immigration Checkpoints,” the FIA said in its directive.

While describing the procedure for the arrest of the accused at the airport, the FIA said that the name of the accused person shall be placed on the stop list, especially the Passport Control List (PCL) and Exit Control List (ECL).

It further said that the directorate general of immigration and passports Islamabad and the ministry of interior are the sole authorities for placing or removing the names from the PCL and ECL.

Three individuals involved in human smuggling arrested in separate Punjab raids

The FIA shall act as the executing agency, responsible for implementing the PCL and ECL at immigration checkpoints, including airports, seaports and land routes.

The investigation agency further said that once the accused person’s name is placed on the ECL/PCL, FIA’s immigration authorities shall apprehend the individual if they attempt to travel from Pakistan or upon their arrival.

Following the investigation agency’s intimation, the additional inspector general of police Punjab (AIG/Legal) has intimated the AIG CTD and Special Branch Punjab, SSP Legal, the City Police Officers and DPOs, including Rawalpindi regarding the compliance and further necessary action in line with the FIA Immigration Wing’s directives concerning arrest of accused at airport.

Crackdown on human smuggling

Meanwhile, the FIA has apprehended three individuals allegedly involved in human smuggling in separate raids.

A spokesman for FIA said that two human smugglers involved in extorting millions of rupees by promising jobs abroad were arrested by the agency during a major crackdown in Gujranwala Zone.

The two agents involved in human trafficking and visa fraud were arrested. The arrested suspects were identified as Farrukh Abbas and Muhammad Azam Cheema, the spokesman said.

The suspects were arrested from different areas of Wazirabad and Sialkot as they were found involved in defrauding citizens of millions of rupees by promising them better jobs abroad.

He further said that accused Farrukh Abbas was arrested in a raid from Alipur Chatha Wazirabad. The accused received more than Rs2.6 million from a citizen in order to get him a job in Italy. The accused sent the citizen to Libya instead of Italy, he said.

The spokesman said that the suspect tried to illegally send the citizen to Europe by boat but they refused to go to Europe by boat and returned.

In another crackdown, Muha­mmad Azam Cheema was arrested from Sambrial, Sialkot district.

The accused took more than Rs2.5m from a young man to send him to Italy for a job. The accused sent the citizen to Libya instead of Italy. The accused failed to send the man to Italy so he returned to Pakistan.

The suspects have been arrested and an investigation has been launched.

The FIA also arrested an agent linked to a human trafficking network after a tip-off at Torkham Immigration authorities.

The said agent, identified as Abid Ali, was arrested in a raid in Osmania Colony, Peshawar.

The suspect was found to be involved in illegally sending citizens to Russia via Afghanistan and later to Europe via Tajikistan and Russia. And they facilitated the preparation of fake travel documents for citizens.

The suspect was arrested on the tip-off of suspects in the custody of FIA Immigration, Torkham. The suspect has been arrested and an investigation has been launched.

Raids were being conducted to arrest facilitators in the suspect’s network, the spokesman said.

Recently, the FIA Immigration in major operations at Karachi airport arrested four suspects who arrived from the UAE as they were involved in illegal activities in the UAE.

The suspects include Bakhtiar, Adnan Ashraf, Muhammad Jamshed and Sikandar Abbas. They belong to Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujranwala.

The arrested suspects were involved in illegal activities of human trafficking and prostitution, the spokesman disclosed.

The suspects were arrested by UAE authorities and deported to Pakistan upon completion of their sentences. The suspects arrived in Pakistan on emergency passports.

The suspects were transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi for further legal action.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2025