Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the frequent offloading of passengers travelling abroad, ordering the constitution of a committee to look into the matter, Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain said on Monday.
Over the past few months, numerous incidents have been reported of travellers being offloaded from flights at various airports, despite possessing valid travel documents. The actions came after a crackdown was launched on migrant smuggling following the Greece boat tragedy in 2024, one which claimed several Pakistani lives.
In a statement issued today, the minister stated that PM Shehbaz had formed a “special committee” to look into the issue of offloading passengers at airports and to ensure safe migration.
“Recently, despite having complete documentation, some passengers have still been offloaded,” the minister said. “People who held valid visas were offloaded as well.”
The committee will prepare “recommendations regarding the safe migration of people,” the minister was quoted as saying.
He detailed that a meeting of the committee is expected this week.
“By the end of January, we will prepare proposals to address these issues, “ he shared, stressing that safe migration was a “fundamental right”.
The minister also lauded the International Organisation of Migration’s (IOM) work for ensuring safe migration.
Last month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in a visit to the Islamabad airport, said that no passenger in possession of “genuine and complete documents” should be barred from travelling abroad.
On November 27, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had clarified that people were only being offloaded or denied boarding if they did not have valid documents or if authorities suspected them of working with migrant smugglers.
