First-time visitors are subject to travel restrictions by Pakistan FIA due to worries about illegal immigration
Lahore: According to a report from Dawn, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has placed restrictions on first-time visitors, especially those aged 35 and under, from the Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, and Jhelum areas regarding travel to certain countries, including Saudi Arabia, even for Umrah.
Passengers traveling to 15 countries—including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Kenya—are subject to stringent profiling procedures.
Travelers must have a clear trip objective, verified hotel reservations, and sufficient financial resources, the FIA said in a report filed with the Lahore High Court (LHC) in response to a plea from a pilgrim who was refused permission to go to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. According to Dawn, the FIA also said that anybody making the journey for Umrah should possess enough religious knowledge.
According to the FIA investigation, this is noteworthy since it follows similar boat catastrophes in Morocco/Mauritania, South Greece, and Libya that included several passengers who left Pakistan using false Umrah visit visas. Many of the participants, who came from Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Bhimber, Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, and Sheikhpura, were said to be between the ages of 15 and 40.
Airport immigration officers are interviewing travelers and carefully checking their documentation to determine their financial plans and trip plans.
Unsettling patterns in the flow of visitors, tourists, and students with visitation, tourist, and student visas from July to December 2024 were discovered by a recent analysis of the Immigration Border Management System (IBMS) database.
According to this investigation, there is a pattern of systematic misuse of various visa kinds, with people entering transit nations as part of illegal trips to Europe. According to Dawn, the Risk Analysis Unit identified these 15 nations as popular entry points for illegal immigrants.
