FIA offloaded nearly 40,000 passengers from Pakistani airports over three years

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has prevented 39,786 passengers from travelling abroad over the past three years, according to media reports citing official documents obtained.

The documents show that following the 2023 Libya migrant boat tragedy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered stricter scrutiny of outbound passengers. Since then, the FIA has intensified screening procedures at airports across the country.

According to the report, 20,408 passengers were offloaded because they lacked the required travel documents.

A further 12,673 passengers were stopped due to low-profile or suspicious travel plans. FIA sources said many of these individuals appeared unlikely to be able to afford international travel based on their financial circumstances.

Some were daily wage earners with no previous overseas travel history but were planning trips for Umrah or to destinations such as Türkiye, Dubai or Thailand, prompting additional scrutiny.

The documents also reveal that 3,450 passengers were offloaded because their names appeared on stop lists or were subject to travel restrictions issued through Interpol.

In addition, 505 passengers were prevented from travelling due to incorrect travel routes, while 281 were offloaded after officials detected forged or fraudulent documents.

FIA sources said these cases included fake visas or genuine visas supported by forged employment permits or other falsified paperwork.

The FIA also stopped 176 passengers because of irregular travel histories, while 145 were offloaded pending verification of their documents.

A further 258 passengers were prevented from travelling because they were underage, and 24 people were stopped after attempting to travel abroad on visit visas while intending to seek employment.