The 8th meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Human Smuggling was convened in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Director General FIA, Jan Muhammad. The meeting brought together key stakeholders, including the senior officials from federal and provincial law enforcement agencies including the AJK and GB Police, Coast Guard, Frontier Corps, Rangers, Maritime Security Agency, NADRA, Passport Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The meeting was also attended by senior officers of FIA including the Additional Director Generals (ADGs) and Directors.
At the outset of the meeting, Additional Director General Immigration, Abbas Ahsan expressed gratitude to ICMPD for their support in organising the event and other support on initiatives against the Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Person.
Director Anti-Human Smuggling from FIA, Saqib Sultan presented a detailed overview of the fundamental objectives of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the ongoing crackdown against human smugglers. While, Director Immigration Wing, Haroon Joya provided insights into the routes, transit countries, and other significant aspects of human trafficking.
Additional Director General Immigration Wing, Abbas Ahsan, outlined the establishment, objectives, and significance of the special task force, which was formed under the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Meanwhile, Additional Director General (Law), Muhammad Jaffar, emphasized the need for digitizing data on human traffickers to ensure seamless information sharing among institutions.
DG, Press Information Department (PID) , Zobia Masood, briefed the participants on the media campaign launched as per the Prime Minister’s directives to raise awareness about human smuggling and trafficking.
Director General FIA, Jan Muhammad addressed the gathering, emphasizing the urgent need for unified and proactive measures to dismantle human smuggling networks. Recognizing the transnational nature of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, he reiterated the importance of international cooperation and intelligence sharing. He also highlighted that over 27,000 suspected passengers were offloaded last year as part of FIA’s crackdown. Additionally, FIA, with Interpol’s support, is actively working to dismantle international smuggling networks, DG FIA Said.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment from the participants to enhance cooperation, exchange information on human traffickers, and improve the capacity of officials involved in anti-trafficking efforts. They agreed on introducing a modernized system to monitor illegal movements at the borders.The participants stressed the need to continue public awareness campaigns to keep public informed about safe and legal migration routes.
Spokesperson FIA
