A meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior was informed that around 10,000 Pakistanis travelled to the United Kingdom on student visas and later applied for political asylum.
The committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz and received detailed briefings on illegal immigration, passport policies, and proposed reforms to criminal laws.
During the meeting, FIA Director General Dr Usman Anwar said that individuals attempting to migrate abroad illegally were damaging Pakistan’s reputation.
He noted that several countries, including members of the European Union, had raised concerns with Pakistan over the issue.
The FIA chief revealed that 580 Pakistanis travelled to Belarus and failed to return, while 10,000 Pakistanis who went to the UK on student visas subsequently applied for asylum.
He further disclosed that a new human trafficking route had emerged through Malaysia and Uzbekistan. According to FIA data, 39,786 people were offloaded in 2025 while attempting to travel abroad without proper documentation. More than 3,000 individuals were also prevented from travelling due to stop-list restrictions and Interpol alerts.
Dr Anwar said that 7,000 Pakistanis travelled to Azerbaijan on visit visas this year and did not return. He added that 175 arrested Pakistanis had been repatriated from Libya. He also noted a 75 per cent decline in organised begging and a 31 per cent reduction in the use of forged documents.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the committee that illegal immigration from Pakistan had decreased by 47 per cent, a claim he said had been acknowledged by both Europe and the United States.
He added that further facilitation measures would be introduced in the coming months and that a new policy regarding lost passports had been prepared.
According to the minister, repeated passport losses are treated as suspicious and investigated thoroughly, as identity-related fraud is a global concern.
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