RAWALPINDI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is planning to establish its offices in Greece and Iran to check the activities of organised criminal networks and illegal movement of Pakistanis, according to a report by a private media outlet.
An official said the FIA had been seeking the assistance of the Foreign Office (FO) for establishing its offices in the two countries. He said an FIA officer of the deputy director rank with required staff would be posted in Iran and Greece.
The move came after a boat with a majority of illegal Pakistani immigrants capsized off the coast of Libya on January 31, leaving several people drowned.
FO spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan’s embassies had already been working in the two countries to facilitate Pakistanis. He stressed the need to launch a campaign led by the FIA across the country to create awareness among people about consequences of going abroad illegally.
“The most important thing is to stop young people from going abroad, especially to Europe, by boats illegally,” he said.
When asked about the total number of Pakistanis killed in the boat tragedy in Libya, the FO spokesman said the accurate number was not available because they were illegal immigrants and officially nobody had any information about their voyage.
He said every Pakistani illegal immigrant caught by law enforcement agencies in Turkey or Greece was sent back to Pakistan within the shortest possible time, but those who didn’t want to come back stayed there.
