In 2023, more than 8 million Pakistanis traveled abroad, as indicated in the annual immigration report from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The FIA Immigration successfully handled 19.5 million passengers at international arrival and departure counters.
Out of these, 7.1 million were Pakistani nationals, and 2.1 million were foreigners who visited Pakistan, totaling 9.2 million passengers. On the departure side, 8.1 million were Pakistani nationals, and 2.2 million were foreigners, making a total of 10.3 million passengers.
Lahore Airport saw the highest number of overseas arrivals and departures, with 3.6 million Pakistanis traveling, followed closely by 3.5 million Pakistani passengers at Islamabad Airport.
The FIA’s Integrated Border Management System dealt with 2935 stop-list cases, arrested 1602 human traffickers, and apprehended 25 most-wanted human traffickers in 2023. The US State Department maintained Pakistan’s Tier 2 status in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for the year.
Additionally, 1,129 passengers were offloaded and taken to police stations due to the use of fake documents. Strict screening measures were implemented at airports to prevent beggars posing as Umrah travelers and to avoid incidents like the Greece boat accident.
