Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of reports emerging of passengers traveling abroad being offloaded and a committee has been set up to look into the matter.
The committee is chaired by Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik and includes Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Minister of State for Overseas Pakistanis Muhammad Awn Chaudhry.
Heads of Pakistan Digital Authority and National Information Technology Board are also part of the panel. The Secretary for Overseas Pakistanis, the IT Secretary and the Additional Home Secretary will also serve as members.
Representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, NADRA and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will be included in the committee. The Committee will propose a new mechanism regarding persons traveling abroad. It will also recommend the harmonization of the system of protection stamps at international level.
The committee is expected to submit its report to the prime minister within three weeks.
Read: Travelers with complete papers stopped flying abroad
Reports on reading
Over the past few months, several reports have surfaced accusing the FIA of de-screening passengers at various airports across the country, despite them possessing valid travel documents. Visa holders for Greece, Italy, Poland and Baku are prevented from traveling to these countries.
Hundreds of Pakistanis, despite having complete visas and travel documents, are forced to repeatedly visit the offices of the Protector of Emigrants, but their documents are not “protected” for travel.
Visitors are told that “orders from above” prohibit the protection of travel documents for travelers traveling abroad to get jobs as agricultural experts, drivers or cleaners. Earlier, people traveling for Umrah or jobs in Dubai were blocked due to suspicion.
Read more: FIA investigates unloading of workers at airports
The FIA has dismissed such claims as pure rumours. FIA Lahore Zone Director Captain (retd) Ali Zia in late November issued a detailed clarification in a video message. According to him, certain elements use AI-generated videos and images to give the impression that passengers are being relieved for no reason.
But testimony suggests these claims may be more than “just hearsay.”
Now even those who have paid visa fees in dollars, pounds or euros are being prevented from traveling to Europe. There are no written orders, only verbal instructions, and all patronage offices nationwide follow them.
