More than 3,000 individuals were also prevented from travelling
Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Dr Usman Anwar revealed that up to 10,000 Pakistanis travelled to the United Kingdom on student visas before later applying for political asylum.
The disclosure was made during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on June 9.
The figures come days after British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott raised concerns about the growing number of Pakistani nationals seeking political asylum in the UK.
She noted that Pakistanis are among the leading nationalities applying for asylum and said many cases appeared to stem from misinformation and exploitation by unauthorised intermediaries rather than genuine eligibility.
Speaking to the committee, Anwar said illegal migration was damaging Pakistan’s reputation internationally, adding that several countries, including members of the European Union, had raised concerns with Islamabad over the issue.
Anwar told lawmakers that 580 Pakistanis who travelled to Belarus had not returned. He also said 7,000 Pakistanis who visited Azerbaijan on visit visas failed to come back. In addition, 175 arrested Pakistanis were repatriated from Libya.
He said authorities had identified a new human trafficking route operating through Malaysia and Uzbekistan.
Anwar said 39,786 people attempting to travel abroad without proper documentation had been offloaded during 2025.
More than 3,000 individuals were also prevented from travelling because of stop-list restrictions and Interpol alerts.
According to the FIA chief, there has been a 75% reduction in organised begging and a 31% decline in the use of fake documents.
State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the committee that illegal immigration from Pakistan had fallen by 47%. He said the reduction had been confirmed by authorities in both Europe and the United States.
Chaudhry added that additional facilitation measures would be introduced in the coming days. He also informed lawmakers that a new policy had been prepared to address lost passports.
He said repeatedly reporting a passport as lost was treated as suspicious and that every such case was investigated. Chaudhry also noted that the sale of identities was a global issue.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar briefed the committee on a package of proposed criminal law reforms. He said a detailed discussion should take place after the budget process.
Tarar said laws that are 80 years old are not necessarily ineffective and continue to function in many countries. However, he argued that legal changes had become necessary because of technological developments and evolving requirements.
He noted that no major legal reforms had been introduced since 1971 and 1991. Proposed amendments cover 55 laws linked to the Code of Criminal Procedure, with work on the package continuing for the past three years.
Tarar said at least four days would be needed to discuss all proposed amendments in detail.
He added that many public services had already been digitised, cases could now be registered online and leading criminal law experts had been consulted during the drafting process.
While describing some of the proposed reforms as unnecessary, Tarar said the overall package was designed to strengthen the judicial system. He argued that existing laws provide protections for accused individuals but offer insufficient safeguards for complainants.
The law minister said the government had submitted comprehensive proposals to the committee in the form of a bill for consideration and possible legislation.
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