The Libyan authorities have deported 36 Pakistanis, who illegally entered Libya, media reports said on Wednesday.
According to Libya’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency, the deported Pakistanis were sent to Karachi under the supervision of International Organization for Migration (IOM) in a special flight.
Earlier in the day, Libyan authorities sent to Dhaka 60 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
According to Xinhua news agency, the deportation is a part of the voluntary return programme carried out by IOM, with an aim to arrange the return of illegal migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin.
Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants who have been rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services, Xinhua stated.
Libya is the main gateway for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions and authorities — under pressure from Italy and the European Union — have begun to block departures.
Zuwara was a top departure point until a local backlash against smuggling in 2015.
In January, around 11 Pakistanis drowned in a shipwreck off Libyan coast.
The bodies of the deceased were shifted to Islamabad through a private airline from Jeddah.
