Summary FIA informed a parliamentary committee that thousands of Pakistanis overstayed abroad or sought asylum, while authorities reported a decline in illegal migration.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A parliamentary committee was informed on Tuesday that around 10,000 Pakistani nationals travelled to the United Kingdom on student visas and later applied for political asylum, highlighting growing concerns over irregular migration trends.
The disclosure was made during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, chaired by Raja Khurram Nawaz, where officials briefed lawmakers on illegal immigration, passport policies and proposed reforms to criminal laws.
Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Dr Usman Anwar, told the committee that illegal migration was damaging Pakistan’s international reputation and had become a matter of concern for several countries, including members of the European Union.
According to the FIA chief, 580 Pakistanis travelled to Belarus but did not return, while 10,000 individuals who entered the UK on student visas subsequently sought asylum. He also revealed that new human-smuggling routes had emerged through Malaysia and Uzbekistan.
The committee was informed that during 2025, authorities offloaded 39,786 passengers attempting to travel abroad without proper documentation. In addition, more than 3,000 individuals were prevented from travelling due to stop-list restrictions and Interpol alerts.
Dr Anwar further stated that nearly 7,000 Pakistanis travelled to Azerbaijan on visit visas this year and failed to return. He added that 175 Pakistani nationals arrested in Libya had been repatriated.
The FIA reported notable progress in its crackdown on illegal activities, saying organised begging networks had declined by 75 per cent, while cases involving fake travel documents had fallen by 31 per cent.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the committee that illegal migration from Pakistan had decreased by 47 per cent, a figure he said had also been acknowledged by European and American authorities.
He said the government was working to introduce additional facilitation measures for citizens and had prepared a new policy regarding lost passports. According to the minister, repeated reports of passport loss are often treated as suspicious and investigated thoroughly, noting that identity-related fraud remains a global issue.
The meeting also reviewed proposed reforms to Pakistan’s criminal justice system. Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told lawmakers that detailed deliberations on the reform package would begin after the federal budget.
He said that although some laws were decades old, age alone did not make them ineffective, pointing out that many countries still successfully enforce longstanding legal frameworks. However, he stressed that technological advancements and changing societal needs required legal modernisation.
Tarar informed the committee that amendments had been proposed to 55 provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), with work on the reforms continuing for the past three years. He said the package was designed to improve judicial efficiency, expand digital services and ensure a more balanced legal process for both complainants and accused persons.
The law minister added that the proposed legislation would be presented before the committee for comprehensive review before being moved forward in the legislative process.
