Daily Times

Pakistan on Wednesday launched the process to bring back over 50,000 citizens, most of them illegal immigrants, languishing in Turkish jails for long.

A three-member committee comprising senior officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), NADRA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior has been set up and directed to submit a comprehensive action plan for immediate repatriation of Pakistani prisoners from Turkey and Greece.

During a recent visit by Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi to Ankara, the Turkish interior minister had informed him that the previous government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been requested to verify identity of Pakistani citizens languishing in Turkish prisons on the charges of illegal immigration and human smuggling, a source in the ministry told Daily Times. Since the arrested youth also included some Afghan nationals who had used Pakistani documents to illegally enter Turkey through Iran and Balochistan, Ankara wanted Islamabad to verify its citizens first so that the repatriation process could be started. However, the process hit snags after NADRA asked Turkey to pay a huge sum of US$ 700,000 as verification charges.

The Turkish interior minister had requested Afridi to not only wave off verification charges demanded by NADRA but also arrange for air travel of those illegal immigrants, as Ankara would have to run hundreds of special flights to send those people back which was practically not possible.

On Wednesday, a high-level meeting was held at the Ministry of Interior chaired by State Minister Shehryar Afridi, and attended by senior officials from the interior and foreign ministries, FIA and NADRA.

Taking up the issue, the minister directed NADRA to send its delegation to Turkey as soon as possible to sort out the issue. He also directed that no fee should be charged from the Turkish government for the verification process.

The minister told the meeting that Pakistan and Turkey have decided to eradicate human smuggling networks working in both the countries. He also directed for launching an awareness campaign for the youth through media to apprise them of the risks and dangers associated with the illegal travel.

The minister directed the FIA to intensify its crackdown against human smugglers, adding that no leniency will be tolerated in this regard. He told the meeting that during the recently held international conference under Budapest Process, 21 member states have reiterated their resolve to counter human smuggling.

The meeting was informed that human smugglers both in Turkey and Pakistan are involved in this illegal human trade and that an operation has already been launched to smash such gangs. Initially the target areas of recruitment of youth for human trafficking were Gujranwala and Lahore divisions but recently some new cities including Swabi and Jaranwala have made it to the list which has complicated the situation, the meeting was further told.

Published in Daily Times, March 7^th 2019.