ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: As many as 17,773 Pakistanis deported from European Countries from 2021 to October 2023 due to illegal entry, the Senate was told.
Sharing the data with the Senate, the Minister for Interior told the House that 1,270 Pakistanis were deported from European Countries in 2021, 12,837 in 2022, and 3,666 in 2023 till October.
It was further told that the most number of Pakistanis – 15,040 – were deported from Türkiye during the said period followed by Greece which deported 1,377 Pakistanis.
Overall, 154,205 illegal Pakistani immigrants from around the world from 2021 to October 2023. Of them, 122,881 Pakistanis were deported by air and 31,324 by land route.
The Senate was also apprised that from 2021 to 2023, 44,283 illegal Pakistani immigrants were offloaded from flights either on insufficient or fake documents.
The interior minister told that most of the times, death cases of immigrants who attempt to cross international borders illegally are not reported to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
However, he added, the last reported case was Greece Boat Tragedy occurred in April 2023.
In response, the FIA launched an operation to trace the victims of Greece Boat Incident to unearth the Human Smugglers involved behind the case. Out of total, 281 victims were reported as Pakistani nationals, 15 victims were identified through biometric/DNA identification system on the basis of information provided through diplomatic channels, the minister told.
