Islamabad, Pakistan – When Pakistani Prime Minister Shaybaz Sharif Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir removed from his position as head of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday, he became the highest victim in a sweeping organizational cleansing yet. At least 43 Pakistani dies Fupping the coast of Morocco earlier in January.

The drowning incident appeared on January 15, when the Moroccan authorities saved 36 people after they were cut off in the Mediterranean for 13 days. At least 37 others, including many Pakistanis, are still missing.

Just four weeks ago, the Greek authorities and the commercial maritime ships carried out Four separate rescue missions Near the Greek coast, to provide at least 200 people, while nearly 50 died, at least 40 of them Pakistani.

These incidents have begun in a rare campaign by Sharif’s government to officials who were assigned to stop human smuggling networks that tempt Pakistani from rural cities and villages with dreams of life in Europe, and took them on the risk of dangerous illegal immigration in many cases. It ends with death and tragedy in Mediterranean water.

Before the Jahangir was removed, nearly 50 FIA officials were rejected due to the alleged negligence related to the incidents of Greece and Morocco. In addition, FIA said that more than 50 officials were included in the black list of service at any inspection points of migration or anti -human trafficking units throughout the country, following a government investigation, while many arrests were made targeting individuals who facilitate Human smuggling networks.

These moves follow a criticism of the government’s installation for its failure to dismantle the rackets of human smuggling and its obvious ability to protect the lives of citizens who feel that they are forced to take risky trips to Europe in violating the laws of immigration.

A senior government official, part of the Sherif’s Labor Squad, said that the Prime Minister is very overseeing the government’s response.

“The Prime Minister takes these incidents seriously. He told the official that the tragedy that affects the families of those who die or stumble in remote countries.”

“We have only improved our border examination, but we also focus on implementation and prosecution. Now, a person from Pakistan will be an arduous task.

A long history of migration

This is said easier than doing, as in the recent deaths from Morocco – despite the continuous campaign of the Sharif administration.

Pakistanis who seek migration to European countries is not a new phenomenon. This trend began more than six decades ago, after building the main electrical project in Pakistan, Mangla Dam.

The initial wave of immigrants is composed of the displaced due to the construction of the dam. They were compensated by Pakistani and British governments, allowing them to move to the United Kingdom.

Most of them came from Punjabi’s provinces, the most prosperous and logical population, especially from cities such as Gusuits, Calcut, Gogranwala, Mandy Bahoudin and Pilsepad Abad.

A research report for the year 2023 conducted by the National Human Rights Committee (NCHR), the independent body of the state responsible for Parliament, revealed that the same areas that contribute greatly to legal immigration also see some of the highest unrealistic immigration cases.

“Of the 20 best regions that contribute to 50 percent of the total external flows from Pakistan between 1981 and 2021, 13 in Punjab, six in Khyber Bakhtongua, and one in Sindh, specifically Karachi,” the report indicated.

While the Punjab Central witnessed an economic growth due to its expansion of land and fertile industrial expansion, immigration from this region – often illegally continued – after European countries have tightened their borders at the end of the century.

According to the statistics issued by FrontEX, the Coast and Coast Guard agency for the European Union, more than 150,000 Pakistani entered European countries using land and sea routes since 2009.

Land roads were more common in 2010 when economic immigrants from Pakistan made risky trips on foot, and sometimes they walk for several months. However, with the intensification of the campaign, the roads developed.

While the previous contract witnessed a influx of refugees to Europe from Afghanistan and Syria, a country facing a long struggle, and from some African countries, the numbers of immigration in Pakistan remained relatively consistent, with an average of nearly 10,000 unrelated Pakistan women in Europe every year, according to To FrontEx.

After Covid-19 in 2020, New deportation methods It appeared, making it difficult for the Pakistani authorities to discover unconfirmed travelers.

Nearly 300 Pakistani were killed or declared missing in June 2023 Adriana boat disaster In the Mediterranean Sea. Al -Jazeera families told that their children had been transferred from Pakistan to Dubai, then to Cairo, before they made their way to Libya for a boat trip to Europe.

And if this road was long, the journey in which the Pakistanis who passed away from Morocco died in January was the most round: from Pakistan to Dubai, then to Ethiopia, then Senegal, and finally, a trip on the road to the Atlantic Coast to Mauritania, where they started a trip Boat.

Munir Masoud Marath, a senior official in the African National Congress management, explained that the operations of human smugglers, who run wide networks across multiple countries, are not easy to stop because, on the surface, immigrants do not always encounter “illegal”: their documents to travel outside Pakistan are legitimate. And officials do not have a Sureshot method to find out what they intend to do after landing on their first destination.

“People are now traveling on the basis of completely legal. They have a valid passport, a valid visa, and a ticket. He told his last unit in his office in his office:” There is no reason to stop them at the airport. “

But the Adriana disaster was a major turning point. A fishing vehicle, carrying about 700 people, touched off the Greek coast near Pylos. Only 104 people survived, including 12 Pakistanis.

After the 2023 incident, we gave a closer look at our operations and started a huge campaign. He said that the results are now visible in the decrease in the number of Pakistanis who leave the country.

Statistics appear to support this claim. According to FIA figures, about 19,000 people were suspended from Pakistan’s departure in 2022, most of whom were intercepted on Earth’s roads.

On the contrary, Margaq from FIA noted that, collectively, in 2023 and 2024, nearly 70,000 people were stopped from Pakistan’s departure. Frontx data also appears almost 50 percent decrease In the number of Pakistanis who arrive in Europe in 2024, about 5,000 compared to 10,000 in the previous year.

However, Marath, who recently returned from Morocco after investigating the last tragedy, also admitted that the smugglers were identifying and using new ways in the cat and mouse game with the authorities.

For this reason, the government now said that it strengthens the mechanisms of monitoring and discovery at the main exit points in the country.

“We travel travelers by looking at the history of travel, social and educational background.

Social drivers

Pakistan has been constantly or near the first ten countries whose citizens have sought to enter Europe through irregular means during the past decade, according to FrontEx.

While the past two years have witnessed that the country’s economy swings on the lips of failure to pay, as inflation reached 38 percent in mid -2013 and poverty rates of up to 39 percent, the government insists that economic hardship is not the only cause of migration.

Officials argue that social pressure plays a more important role.

Marath, who descends from Mandy Bahoudin, an irregular migration area, said the effect of the family and the pressure of peer are the main drivers behind dangerous trips.

“In most cases, the families themselves urge their members to find a way to reach Europe,” he said.

“It becomes a competitive issue. If one of the neighbors has two sons in Italy, bought a car and renews his house, others feel pressure to do the same, either by going to themselves or sending their children.”

The recent Morocco incident included people of relatively self -families, including business owners and those who have previous experience in working in the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Emirates).

Marath said that while the Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are hosting a large Pakistani diaspora that works there, for many, its goal is to simulate their cousins ​​who are in European countries.

Usually go to the Gulf states a backup plan. The dream is Europe. “The presence of a family or friends there makes stability easier.”

Change scene

The Supreme Government official of the Sherif Labor Squad suggested that the last campaign against officials indicates the government’s intention.

The official said: “It is clear that there are different factors in playing, but the basic point is that we get to know them, and we are working to fix things.”

He added that thousands of Pakistanis were cut off in Libya, and that the government was working to return them to the homeland.

“Libya is a challenge because there is no organized government, as different factions control various fields. He said,” If those who are still there are trying to cross into Europe, their return will be difficult. “But for others who are trying to leave Pakistan for this purpose, We hope to take strict measures against human smuggling. “

However, Marath, the FIA ​​official, said, as well as improving implementation and training for FIA employees, it was equally important to provide awareness and awareness to the people who offer their lives “intentionally”.

“People pay between 2.5 to 3.5 million rupees [$8,900 to $12,500] For smugglers. Why not use this money to build a future here instead of risking their lives? “He asked.