ISLAMABAD: The positive results of the federal government’s strict security and offloading measures have started to emerge, with a record 64 per cent decrease recorded in the number of Pakistanis illegally entering Europe during the first two months of this year, official documents confirmed.
According to the documents and data, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency — commonly known as Frontex — has confirmed the significant decline. A total of 440 Pakistanis illegally entered Europe in January and February this year, compared to 1,224 during the same two-month period of 2025, the data showed.
Sources said the government and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have significantly curbed the trend of illegal migration through strict security screening at airports, offloading of suspicious passengers, and effective action against human trafficking networks.
The decline builds on an earlier reduction reported for 2025 as a whole, when illegal migration attempts from Pakistan to Europe had fallen by close to half compared to the previous year, according to figures cited by FIA officials in recent briefings.
The agency had offloaded nearly 40,000 passengers last year alone under what officials describe as an “intelligence-driven and risk-based” screening system, a figure that has drawn acknowledgement from European officials engaging with Islamabad on migration.
Human cost of ‘dunki’ routes
Officials say the renewed crackdown follows a series of deadly tragedies on illegal migration routes to Europe, commonly known as “dunki” routes, which have claimed hundreds of Pakistani lives in recent years.
Migrants attempting the journey typically pass through transit points in North Africa, including Libya and Egypt, before attempting sea crossings of the Mediterranean in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats operated by smuggling networks.
The issue gained renewed urgency after the June 2023 boat tragedy off the Greek coast, in which a large number of Pakistani migrants died when an overcrowded vessel capsized in the Mediterranean Sea — one of the deadliest such incidents involving Pakistani nationals in recent memory.
A high-level inquiry committee constituted by the prime minister in the aftermath had recommended tougher enforcement measures, many of which authorities say are now being implemented.
Further tragedies followed in subsequent years, including additional Mediterranean boat disasters and fatal incidents along routes through Libya, where migrants have drowned attempting sea crossings toward Italy and other European destinations.
According to data cited by FIA officials, at least several hundred Pakistanis have been affected by such incidents over the past three years, with well over 300 confirmed deaths, while the International Organisation for Migration has recorded more than 100 Pakistani deaths during irregular migration attempts in 2025 alone. These figures could not be independently verified.
In response, Pakistani authorities say they have carried out repatriation operations to rescue nationals held in detention facilities in Libya after being intercepted before boarding smuggling boats, including operations earlier this year that brought back over 200 Pakistanis from facilities in Tripoli and Benghazi.
Crackdown on smuggling networks
As part of the wider crackdown, the FIA says it has registered over 2,400 cases against human smuggling networks since December 2024, arresting more than 3,000 agents allegedly involved in trafficking operations, and seizing assets worth hundreds of millions of rupees.
The agency’s Risk Analysis Unit has also identified several key routes used by smugglers, running through Gulf states, Central Asian countries and onward transit points including Cyprus and parts of Eastern Europe, officials said.
Authorities maintain that offloading of passengers at airports — a practice that has drawn public criticism at times — is intended primarily as a preventive measure to save lives and protect citizens from exploitation abroad, rather than a punitive step against genuine travelers.
The federal government has said it will continue coordinating with European counterparts on migration management, even as it faces the twin challenge of curbing irregular migration while protecting the interests of Pakistanis seeking legitimate opportunities for overseas employment.
