New checks target offloadings
Govt begins pre-immigration scrutiny at airports
Government agencies have initiated enhanced pre-immigration checks for travelers departing for foreign destinations in an effort to thwart offloading at airports and safeguard passengers from financial and legal troubles. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), passport authorities, and Emigrant Protector staff have been deployed at major international airports, such as Lahore, to scrutinize passengers' travel documents and visas before their departure.
This initiative stems from a request by the Overseas Employment Association, which urged authorities to examine passengers' documents and visas before they reach the immigration counter. The new system targets passengers embarking on employment, tourism, Umrah, or religious pilgrimage trips. It aims to prevent illegal travel and shield individuals from financial and legal complications, officials explained.
Instances have arisen where certain Pakistani nationals traveling to countries like Azerbaijan and Bahrain have disappeared, engaged in illicit activities, or been deported. The pre-immigration process seeks to deter such occurrences by identifying and resolving issues like incomplete documents or unsatisfactory answers during questioning with immigration officials. Previously, passengers faced offloading at airports upon departure if their documents were incomplete or if they failed to provide satisfactory answers.
The authorities are particularly vigilant about the validity and completeness of travel documents, visas, and other required papers for entry into the destination. This measure is intended to deter passengers from falling prey to fraudulent or improper travel arrangements, especially in cases involving overseas employment. Offloading passengers upon arrival often leads to significant financial losses for travelers, as air tickets and visa fees may become non-refundable. Such incidents have reportedly cost Pakistani travelers hundreds of millions of rupees.
On September 18, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted a citizen the right to travel abroad after initially placing them on a travel restriction list and offloading them at the airport. Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas expressed dissatisfaction with the FIA's authority to conduct such measures under its internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) and instructed the agency's additional director to submit a response outlining the legal basis for offloading passengers and placing their names on travel restriction lists.
Written by urgent.news from The Express Tribune - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
