No more off-loading: Travellers assured with valid documents in Pakistan

Dubai: Rising concerns over passengers being denied boarding at Pakistan’s airports have prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to step in, assuring the public that travellers with valid documents will face no obstruction.

The move comes amid growing reports of off-loading incidents, heightened immigration checks, and social media rumours fuelling panic among outbound passengers.

During a visit to Islamabad International Airport on Saturday, Naqvi met passengers directly, listening to their complaints and reviewing immigration procedures. He emphasised that lawful travellers must not face unnecessary delays or harassment, while only those attempting to travel on fake, incomplete, or unverifiable documents would be stopped.

“No passenger with genuine and complete documents should ever be stopped from travelling,” Naqvi said in a post on X. “But those attempting to travel on fake or unverified documents will not be allowed under any circumstances, as such actions damage Pakistan’s reputation.”

The minister also ordered a strict crackdown on visa agents and traffickers, calling them “agent mafias” that exploit people’s futures for profit.

He further instructed an immediate inquiry into a November 7 complaint regarding low staffing at immigration counters, including a review of CCTV footage.

Amid mounting rumours and speculation, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) issued a clarification denying that passengers with valid documents were being off-loaded.

“No passenger is being offloaded at Lahore airport,” said FIA Lahore Zone Director Captain (retd) Ali Zia, adding that the authority facilitates travellers whose documents are legal and complete. “Even immigration authorities cannot stop you with legal documents,” he added.

He noted that only those with incomplete or suspicious documents, or those suspected of illegal migration attempts, were being stopped. The director warned that social media misinformation was creating unnecessary panic and unrest. Some travellers, he revealed, had used women as shields to flee abroad or carried documents from fake companies.

The FIA’s clarification comes amid government efforts to curb human smuggling, following fatal boat capsizing incidents involving Pakistanis attempting illegal migration. Pakistanis also accounted for the largest nationality among UK asylum applicants in 2024—25, with 11,048 applications or 10.1% of the total, according to the Home Office.

Earlier this month, FIA DG Riffat Mukhtar confirmed investigations into off-loading incidents at Lahore and Karachi airports, stressing that immigration profiling is “targeted, not arbitrary.”

Reiterating the government’s stance, Naqvi said that while genuine travellers must be facilitated, those attempting illegal travel or exploiting others will face zero tolerance.