Pakistan to reopen foreign offices to curb human trafficking
January 23rd, 2012 - 6:50 pm ICT by IANSIslamabad, Jan 23 (IANS) Pakistan is likely to reopen its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) liaison offices, closed down about a decade ago, in 11 countries in a bid to curb human trafficking and deal with immigration issues, the Dawn reported.
According to an official, the FIA which plays a big role in combating terrorism, corruption and human trafficking and policing copyright infringement, has submitted a proposal to the interior ministry in this regard.
“Once the proposal is approved by the interior ministry after getting comments from the foreign ministry, the link (liaison) offices will be made operational in the countries where they had been closed down.”
He said the decision was taken in view of rising cases of human trafficking that had become a global concern.
The link offices, he said, were operational arms of the FIA in curbing human trafficking. They will be reopened in New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, among other cities.
According to a federal security official, the FIA recently relocated one of its link offices from Oman to Dubai.
The official said frequent destinations for human traffickers were the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Scandinavian countries that include Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
“Human trafficking to the US is now very limited because of strict border control measures put in place by their customs and border protection departments after the 9/11 attacks. Besides, the US is no more a favourite destination for illegal skilled or unskilled labour,” the official added.
- Over 4,300 human traffickers held in Pakistan: Malik - Oct 15, 2011
- New units to tackle human trafficking - May 12, 2011
- 3,000 human traffickers punished in Pakistan in 2011 - Jul 10, 2012
- Pakistan targets foreign exchange dealers who break rules - Jan 16, 2012
- BSF, Bangladesh border guards to discuss trans-border issues - Mar 16, 2012
- 'Economic activities behind spurt in human trafficking' - Jul 11, 2012
- UAE, EU to cooperate against human trafficking - Jun 21, 2010
- Rise in trafficking of Chinese women - Jan 24, 2011
- US citizen detained at Peshawar airport - May 14, 2011
- Few takers for IGNOU's anti-human trafficking course - May 12, 2011
- Pakistan orders probe into human trafficking to Iran - Nov 19, 2010
- Chinese firm eyes Iceland resort - Apr 18, 2012
- India, Finland sign social security accord - Jun 12, 2012
- China deletes 400,000 weblinks for copyright violation - Nov 10, 2011
- UAE sends plane to Oman to bring home injured citizens - Sep 02, 2012
Tags: 9 11 attacks, border control, combating terrorism, copyright infringement, customs and border protection, federal investigation, federal security, frequent destinations, global concern, greece cyprus, human traffickers, human trafficking, immigration issues, investigation agency, liaison offices, scandinavian countries, security official, sweden norway, unskilled labour, york london