The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a crackdown on agents involved in illegally sending over 50,000 Pakistanis to Iraq.
The action follows the discovery of illegal presence of more than 50,000 Pakistanis in Iraq. The Pakistani Embassy in Iraq had written a formal letter to the FIA about the alarming scale of illegal migration and exploitation of Pakistani nationals in Iraq.
The FIA Headquarters issued letters to its Gujranwala and Islamabad zones, instructing them to identify and take action against agents involved in the unlawful activities.
According to the embassy's letter from September, the agents charged individuals between Rs500,000 to Rs600,000, falsely promising job opportunities. Many of these Pakistanis are now facing challenging conditions, with reports of exploitation, harassment, and abuse.
The letter also contained the names of the agents who sent people to Iraq with two passports. The letter mentioned that the illegally residing Pakistanis were involved in begging, theft, drug peddling and smuggling.
The letter revealed that illegally residing Pakistani women are primarily working in beauty parlours and homes. These women were mentally or physically abused by Iraqi men and sometimes Pakistani citizens, according to the letter.
Furthermore, passports of the pilgrims arriving in groups remain in the custody of the delegate or Iraqi immigration, who only return them when all group members depart together.
The letter states that the Iraqi foreign minister has repeatedly emphasized the need for legal processes to address the influx of undocumented Pakistani nationals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been urged to coordinate with the FIA and relevant authorities to expedite legal measures against the involved agents, as efforts continue to protect and repatriate affected Pakistani citizens in Iraq.
