ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has set up Pre-Departure Facilitation Desks across all zonal offices to assist international travellers with immigration procedures and clearances.
Pre-departure desks are operational
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced in a post on X on Sunday that the desks were operational with immediate effect and would be accessible in person, through helplines and by email, with details available at airports, border points and on the FIA website. He said the move is aimed to streamline facilitation for departing passengers.
On Sunday, Naqvi also visited the FIA Karachi office where he reviewed the agency’s performance and announced enforcement measures in priority areas.
Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi reiterated a zero-tolerance policy on hawala and hundi, informal money transfer channels used to move funds outside official systems.
“The entire money trail of elements involved in money laundering should be exposed,” he said.
He also directed an intensified crackdown on human smugglers. “Elements who deceive people with false promises of jobs and send them abroad deserve not even the slightest concession,” Naqvi said, instructing officials to pursue such cases without outside influence.
FIA officials told the minister that, over the past four months, 20 agents allegedly involved in human-smuggling activities had been arrested, and non-customs goods and narcotics worth Rs140 million had been seized.
Acknowledging resource constraints, the minister said staff shortage in the FIA Karachi Zone would be addressed on a priority basis and that necessary resources would be provided to officers.
The directives follow an increase in the number of passengers offloaded at major airports. In December, the FIA informed a parliamentary body that 66,154 passengers had been offloaded during the outgone year as part of efforts to curb organised beggar groups and illegal outbound travel.
