KARACHI, Nov 21: Interior Minister Rehman Malik directed FIA officials on Sunday to take measures to curb human smuggling and corruption.

Chairing a meeting of FIA officials at a camp office of National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) here, he asked FIA authorities to look into the issue of deportation of 106 Pakistanis from Iran’s Taftan checkpoint.

The deportees included 54 people from Punjab and 52 from Balochistan.

The meeting was attended, among others, by FIA director-general and the agency’s chief for Balochistan.

The minister asked FIA authorities to launch a crackdown and arrest the people involved in human smuggling.

He asked the Balochistan chief of FIA to visit border checkpoints himself and keep a vigilant eye on smuggling of sugar and other commodities to Afghanistan.

Mr Malik also asked the officials to check illegal entry of Afghans from border areas and keep a close liaison with Chaman border police to install biometric system as agreed by Pakistan and Afghan governments.

He ordered the suspension of a senior official deputed at Islamabad Airport on a complaint made by two passengers, Zeeshan and Khalid, for allegedly demanding Rs20,000 from them. He ordered an enquiry against FIA officials involved and registration of a case, if they were found guilty.

The minister said the officials should adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards illegal immigration and human trafficking.

He ordered that his cellphone number (0321-2033383) and that of FIA director-general should be displayed prominently at all airports as should the email address of NCMC (ncmccontrol@dsl.net.pk).

He also asked all departments dealing with the public to install complaint boxes and notice boards mentioning the procedure for lodging complaints against any corrupt practice.

The minister claimed that Al Qaeda- and Taliban-backed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi was involved in recent blasts in Karachi and other parts of the country. He said that besides Al Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was supporting the Lashkar.

Answering a question, he said the government would not blame foreign elements for attacks in Pakistan because some forces within the country were involved in terrorist activities.

Referring to the attack on CID Centre, Karachi, Mr Malik said it was not yet clear what type of explosives had been used in the blast.—APP