Islamabad: A two-day regional workshop on Combating Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) and Combating Trafficking in Persons (TIP) held on September 26-27 concluded today. April 2024 at Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. The workshop was jointly organized by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to address the urgent need to improve cooperation between countries to effectively fight migrants. smuggling, especially as a result of tragic events such as the Greek shipwreck.
The seminar was attended by representatives of Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Libya, UAE, Iraq, Oman, Greece, Italy, Iran and other relevant European Union countries. Delegates from the main participating countries focused on emerging national trends in trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM), national best practices in investigating and prosecuting SOM, as well as emerging challenges at the international level. and regional cooperation in combating SOM.
FIA Lahore Zone Director Sarfraz Khan Virk warned of cooperation in cross-border investigations and migrant smuggling, highlighting the examples of Iraq and Pakistan. FIA Immigration Director Abdul Qadir Qamar led a discussion and question-and-answer session on improving border control mechanisms to detect illegal migration attempts.
He thanked all the participants as well as the European Union (EU), UNODC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their joint efforts in organizing the event. He reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment to prevent and combat human trafficking and trafficking, both nationally and internationally. He emphasized the comprehensive approach of federal and provincial authorities, together with social service agencies, to address this multifaceted problem. He also said that Pakistan has adopted a legal framework to combat human rights and anti-trafficking, which provides a solid foundation for law enforcement efforts.
The workshop ended with the presentation of souvenirs to the representatives of the participating countries, symbolizing the commitment to continue cooperation and cooperation in the fight against migrant smuggling.
