FIA expands overseas network to eight countries, strengtheni

Pakistan expands FIA's overseas law-enforcement network with link offices in eight countries, strengthening coordination on nationality verification, migrant repatriation, document fraud, human trafficking and smuggling, detainee assistance and irregular migration cases. FIA link offices in eight countries provide direct channels for nationality verification, migrant repatriation, document-fraud investigations, human-smuggling cases and consular assistance ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expanded its immigration and law-enforcement presence abroad by establishing Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Link Offices in Pakistani missions, creating direct channels with foreign immigration, border-control and law-enforcement authorities for cases involving Pakistani nationals. The network currently covers Oman, Iran, Greece, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UAE, with senior Police Service of Pakistan and FIA officers posted as Counsellors or Second Secretaries (Immigration). According to details, the overseas network includes Liaqat Ali (FIA/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in Oman; Aftab Butt (FIA/BS-18), Second Secretary Immigration in Iran; Bilal Aslam (FIA/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in Greece; Syed Ali Akbar Shah (PSP/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in the United Kingdom; Ambreen Ali (PSP/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in Italy; Muhammad Behram Khan (PSP/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in Spain; Iftikhar Ahmad Khan (FIA/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in Turkey; and Khurram Saeed Rana (FIA/BS-19), Counsellor Immigration in the UAE. The officers deal with immigration-related issues of Pakistanis abroad and provide a direct institutional link for nationality and identity verification, emergency and temporary travel documents, return and readmission arrangements, suspected document fraud, human trafficking and smuggling cases, detainee assistance and coordination with foreign police and immigration authorities. The initiative forms part of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's efforts to strengthen FIA's immigration and law-enforcement functions and enhance international cooperation against human smuggling and irregular migration. UK link office: new channel for migration cooperation The FIA Link Office in the United Kingdom, established in December 2025, has developed working relationships with British immigration, border-control and law-enforcement authorities. During its initial reporting period, the office reported more than 150 nationality-verification cases and over124 documentation issues resolved. The office handles cases involving incomplete, contradictory or suspected fraudulent Pakistani documentation and coordinates verification with relevant Pakistani authorities, including NADRA and passport authorities. The UK office has also been involved in efforts to revive high-level Pakistan-UK migration engagement and support a roadmap for a Migration Mobility Partnership, aimed at facilitating legal migration while addressing irregular migration. Italy: high-volume immigration and document cases The FIA Link Office in Italy has handled a substantial volume of immigration and detainee-related cases while coordinating with Italian police, immigration authorities and detention centres. For 2024, 2025 and 2026, the office reported 13,379 consulate interviews, 375 online jail/detention-centre visits and 401 online detainee-access interactions. The office reported 13,131 immigration-related casework items, identified 1,139 suspected agents and recorded 999 victims/immigrants during the reported period. It also reported around 800 public complaints redressed, 173 inquiry reports and 124 forged-immigration-document cases, besides coordinating six criminal cases. The office scrutinised Same Person Affidavits and rejected 113 where discrepancies or identity concerns were identified. It also reported 170 police/legal-assistance cases and 231 emergency travel documents during the three reported years. Tehran: repatriation and crisis response The FIA Link Office in Tehran has handled a combination of immigration, humanitarian, repatriation and crisis-response cases involving Pakistani nationals. From 2024 to August 31, 2026, the office reported 34,685 safe repatriations, 978 public complaints redressed, 422 emergency travel documents issued, 305 crisis-response and humanitarian-protection cases, 231 victim-support cases and 159 missing or kidnapped persons rescued or recovered. The office also reported identifying 36 agents, kidnappers or ransom beneficiaries, conducting 97 liaison meetings, handling 134 consular-access cases and two legal-assistance cases, and detecting and handing over proclaimed offenders. During the Yazd accident in August 2024, the office coordinated identification, medical assistance and repatriation after 28 Pakistani Zaireen died and 23 were seriously injured, according to the report. It also coordinated the identification and repatriation of 21 Pakistani nationals killed in terrorist incidents in Iran. During the Iran-Israel conflict, the office reported facilitating the evacuation of 15,742 Pakistanis through the Taftan and Gabd land borders. The office has also supported prisoner-related cooperation. According to the report, two Pakistani prisoners who had spent 12 years under capital sentences were released, while 30 Pakistani prisoners were released during the preceding year. In November 2025, two Pakistani fugitives were reportedly handed over by NCB-Tehran to Pakistani police officers. Greece: focus shifts to maritime smuggling routes The FIA Link Office in Athens has focused on irregular maritime migration and intelligence-sharing with Greek law-enforcement agencies. During 2025-26, the office reported 362 Pakistani irregular maritime arrivals in Greece, with 231 repatriations in 2025 and 131 in 2026. It identified 65 agents during the reporting period and reported intelligence-linked arrests involving high-profile agents. The office has also reported a shift in migration routes from the traditional Turkey-Evros/Aegean corridors towards the Tobruk-Libya-Crete/Gavdos maritime route. Following the Gavdos boat incident, the FIA Counsellor obtained consular access to survivors, interviewed them and transmitted information concerning routes, smugglers and their modus operandi to FIA headquarters. The office's report also links intelligence gathered in Greece to arrests associated with the Jajja gang and claims contributions towards dismantling the Jajja and Sunyara gangs. The Athens office coordinates with the Hellenic Police, Coast Guard, Interpol-NCB, detention centres and other Greek authorities. Oman: overseas intelligence linked to FIRs in Pakistan The FIA Link Office in Muscat has focused on trafficking, smuggling, immigration documentation and repatriation cases. During 2025-26, it processed 3,855 emergency travel documents, including 1,176 sea-route-related cases, representing around 30.5% of the total. The office identified 340 traffickers and smugglers and transmitted information obtained from victim complaints, detainee interviews and travel-document cases to FIA formations in Pakistan. According to the office report, this information was linked to seven FIRs registered in Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Karachi, with five arrests reported in three cases. The report also identified the alleged misuse of family or relative-joining visas, forged Nikahnamas and fraudulent sponsorship papers in trafficking cases involving Pakistani women. Spain, Turkey and UAE The FIA has also posted immigration officers at Pakistani missions in Spain, Turkey and the UAE, extending the network to additional European and Gulf destinations. The Spain office provides a channel for immigration coordination, nationality verification, documentation and repatriation-related matters. In Turkey, the FIA presence is particularly relevant to immigration cases involving a country that has served as an important transit route for Pakistani nationals attempting to reach Europe through irregular migration channels. The officer can coordinate with Turkish authorities on nationality verification, suspected facilitators and returns. The UAE office operates in a country that hosts a large Pakistani expatriate and worker population and provides a direct FIA channel for immigration, documentation and repatriation-related matters. FIA network set to expand A senior FIA official told that the Ministry of Interior is also posting FIA immigration officers to Saudi Arabia and Poland, further expanding the overseas network. The planned expansion would give Pakistan additional institutional presence in both a major destination for Pakistani workers and a European country relevant to wider migration flows.