ISLAMABAD: After months of growing public fury and social media outrage, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has finally taken action over the practice of arbitrary passenger offloading at airports – particularly targeting those with valid visas and travel documents, and mostly those seeking work abroad.
The highly anticipated move comes after mounting criticism of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) often “unprofessional” conduct, which has raised serious questions about the integrity of the country’s immigration processes.
The prime minister announced the formation of a 14-member committee, tasked with cleaning up the mess and investigating the deeply flawed immigration procedures that have caused endless frustration for many Pakistani travellers.
Naqvi assures no traveller with complete documents being stopped at airport
An official at the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis confirmed that the prime minister intervened after reports surfaced of passengers – many with valid visas – being offloaded for flimsy reasons, like ‘technical glitches’ or ‘document discrepancies.’ These incidents, some involving workers simply trying to earn a living abroad, have sparked widespread outrage online, with citizens demanding accountability from those at the helm of the FIA, an agency operating under the Ministry of Interior led by Mohsin Naqvi.
In a move that can only be described as long overdue, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis officially announced on December 15 that a 14-member committee has been established to dig into the issue.
The panel will include top-ranking officials such as the federal IT minister, the state minister for overseas Pakistanis, and secretaries from both ministries, with Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the federal minister for overseas Pakistanis, heading the charge.
The committee’s mandate is to evaluate and implement measures aimed at reducing human discretion in the issuance and renewal of the Protectorate of Emigrants (POE) stamp, a mandatory endorsement on Pakistani passports for citizens travelling abroad for employment.
“The committee has been tasked with recommending a fully digitized, end-to-end process for online issuance and renewal of POE stamps,” the notification stated. “It will also focus on improving the system to monitor the satisfaction of workers with immigration arrangements.”
Additionally, the committee will explore ways to align Pakistan’s immigration procedures with international best practices and suggest further measures to enhance the POE system.
The committee has been given just three weeks to report back to the prime minister with its findings.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025