Pakistan discourages first-time travel for people to 15 countries, including Saudi Arabia

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is ensuring a strict profiling of passengers travelling to 15 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania and Kenya.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is discouraging first-time travel for people aged around 35, particularly those belonging to Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin and Jhelum, to certain countries, including Saudi Arabia, even for Umrah, according to a media report.

The agency is ensuring a strict profiling of passengers travelling to 15 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania and Kenya, The Dawn newspaper reported.

“The passengers must have an un-doubtful travel purpose, paid hotel booking and sufficient funds,” the FIA said in a report submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) in connection with a petition of a pilgrim who had been barred from travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

The FIA claimed that those travelling for Umrah must have adequate religious knowledge.

In the recent tragedies of boats capsizing in Libya, Greece, Morocco and Mauritania, most of the passengers who survived or died departed from Pakistan on the pretext of Umrah visit visas, the FIA report stated.

It added that most of them were between 15 and 40 years of age and hailing from Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Bhimber, Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad and Sheikhpura.

The immigration authorities at the airports have been conducting a thorough verification of the documents of passengers, besides interviewing them regarding the purpose of travel and financial arrangements.

The report said a recent analysis of the Immigration Border Management System (IBMS) database revealed concerning patterns in passengers’ movement on visit, tourist and student visas between July and December 2024.

It said the analysis identified systematic misuse of such visa categories, whereby the individuals secure entry to transit countries as part of unauthorised movement to Europe. The Risk Analysis Unit identified the 15 countries as frequent transit routes for illegal immigration, the report added.