Weeks after a fishing boat carrying up to 750 refugees capsized off the coast of Greece, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) announced the arrest of dozens of “smugglers” and vowed to destroy an entire network of agents and operators involved in illegal business.
But why did so many deaths have to occur before the authorities intervened? Why did so many lives have to die for law enforcement to recognize this as a problem? And most importantly, why are Pakistanis willing to walk (or swim) through Death Valley to reach the ‘green meadows’?
A volatile economy with high inflation, combined with rising unemployment and a forced and unstable political climate, has led to a significant increase in the number of people wanting to flee the country for a better life. “The economic and political situation in Pakistan has deteriorated sharply,” said filmmaker Hassan Zaidi, who has meticulously documented the migrants’ journeys across multiple routes and borders. “Stability is directly proportional to legal and illegal immigrants, both of which are currently overwhelmed.
FIA Human Trafficking and Smuggling Wing Director Muhammad Alam Shinwari told media that “in the past few years, thousands of agents have been arrested for helping the illegal migration of people from Pakistan.
Immigration officials have been trained and newly equipped to deal with these issues. Our system is connected to NADRA and other databases. Especially at border points, intelligence units made up of various agencies have been set up to prevent people from using land and sea routes,” Shinwari said.
