ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has intensified its crackdown on human smuggling networks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as elsewhere across the country following last week’s boat tragedy off Libya that killed 16 Pakistanis.

Special teams are now targeting agents who move migrants overland through Iran and Turkiye, officials said on Saturday.

FIA Islamabad Zone Director Syed Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari ordered action after the April 17 incident in which a vessel carrying 60 migrants capsized. Most of the victims were from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Two special teams have been formed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to arrest agents operating land routes, under the orders issued by the zonal director,” an official said. The teams will work with police and other law enforcement agencies for technical support and raids.

The FIA is also moving against agents based abroad. Mr Bukhari said the agency would initiate proceedings through Interpol to seek arrests and extraditions.

FIA Islamabad Zone director ordered action after April 17 incident in which a vessel with 60 migrants, mostly Pakistanis, onboard capsized

Investigators have begun tracing the assets of suspects under anti-money laundering laws, with bank records and travel histories being pulled for “all known agents”. Financial probes will run parallel to criminal cases. “If we find proceeds of crime, we will seize moveable and immoveable assets,” an FIA official said.

A public awareness campaign has started at airports, on social media and at bus terminals warning against illegal overland routes to Europe, which typically run through Quetta, Iran and Turkey. Banners have been placed at “notable public places” detailing the risks. Mr Bukhari warned that anyone abetting illegal immigration would face “strict action”.

The FIA said it would seek help from local police for arrests where needed.

Pakistan has seen repeated migrant boat tragedies in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas over the past two years. More than 350 Pakistanis died in the June 2023 Greece shipwreck. Most victims pay agents between Rs2 million and Rs3.5 million for the journey.

The Interior Ministry and the FIA keep on urging citizens not to use illegal channels, saying legal migration options were available.

An official of the Interior Ministry recalled that in February this year three European countries — Italy, Spain and Greece — and Pakistan reached a consensus to promote legal pathways to “effectively combat illegal migration.”

The consensus was reached at a four-nation conference in Rome, where Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi represented Pakistan and floated the idea of legal migration pathways as a strategy to tackle illegal migration.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026