A high-level European Union delegation on Friday visited the Sialkot International Airport to monitor the immigration processes and measures to prevent irregular migration, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) spokesperson said in a statement.

The move comes after around 66,154 passengers were offloaded last year despite holding valid documents, particularly at Lahore and Karachi airports, amid a post-2024 Greece boat tragedy crackdown on migrant smuggling, which claimed several Pakistani lives.

According to the spokesperson, the delegation was given a comprehensive briefing on the “working, performance, and achievements of the FIA Immigration at the Sialkot airport, with particular emphasis on the progress made over the last five months.”

The delegation comprised the Frontex officer to Pakistan, an official from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, a representative from the Embassy of Hungary in Pakistan, and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development’s official.

“The briefing was focused on measures taken to prevent irregular migration, including the effective implementation of risk indicators, enhanced profiling mechanisms, and optimal utilisation of the Second Line Border Control Office,” the spokesperson added in the statement.

The spokesperson stated that the EU delegation was further apprised of the pre-departure facilitation mechanisms established at both the zonal level and the airport, aimed at strengthening border management, improving operational efficiency, and creating a passenger-friendly environment.

Last week, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that the FIA had set up pre-departure facilitation desks at all its zonal offices nationwide to assist international travellers.

“The delegation appreciated and acknowledged the professionalism and commitment in ensuring effective, secure, and robust border control operations at Sialkot International Airport,” he said.

In December, the immigration authorities of FIA offloaded four passengers, belonging to Sialkot and Gujranwala, from flights to Indonesia and Turkiye.

An FIA official told Dawn that the passengers had been in contact with the human smugglers, who had to send them to Italy through illegal means. The authorities also offloaded two passengers at the Sialkot International Airport for allegedly attempting to illegally migrate to Europe in the guise of Umrah pilgrims.

Over the past year, numerous incidents have been reported of travellers being offloaded from flights at various airports, despite possessing valid travel documents.

The immigration border management system (IBMS) data analysis of the July-December 2024 period revealed the trend of passengers travelling to at least 15 countries.

The data analysis showed that most of the passengers travelling to these transit destinations are mainly from nine districts of Punjab, including Sialkot.