Overview
- The Federal Investigation Agency told lawmakers on Tuesday that intelligence‑led screening removed roughly 39,786–40,000 outbound passengers from flights in 2025 to prevent exploitation and human smuggling.
- The agency cited Frontex data showing a 64% fall in Pakistan‑to‑EU irregular migration in January–February 2026 and a government claim of a 47% overall drop in illegal departures.
- FIA director Dr Usman Anwar disclosed about 10,000 Pakistanis used UK student visas and later applied for asylum, a point that has drawn concern from the British High Commission and feeds diplomatic pressure on visa policies.
- To address rights concerns the FIA issued a 1 June 2026 Standing Order creating a review process that allows offloaded passengers to appeal to the immigration in‑charge and seek review by a zonal grievance committee.
- The agency warned that traffickers are shifting routes to places such as Belarus, Azerbaijan, Malawi, Malaysia and Central Asia, and said continued monitoring, stop‑lists and Interpol alerts remain in use to block new smuggling corridors.