Supreme Court. Photo: File 

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court summoned on Tuesday the interior and foreign secretaries and advocate general Punjab in the human smuggling suo motu case.

During the hearing, the chief justice observed that human smuggling gangs are operating from Gujrat, Lala Musa, Sira-e-Alamgir and Mandi Bahauddin areas of Punjab, adding that this menace has to be curtailed.

The crime is not being tackled adequately as there are issues of coordination between government institutions, he observed further. 

Federal Investigation Agency Director General Bashir Ahmed Memon admitted before the court that human smuggling is a pressing issue in Gujranwala. 

The chief justice stated that the court will direct the Punjab government to set up an FIA office in Gujranwala and Gujrat to tackle the situation on ground.

Libya shipwreck tragedy: FIA claims key arrests in crackdown against human smugglers

Suspects smuggled 32 Pakistanis who are believed to have drowned after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya, says FIA

Separately, as many as three alleged human smugglers were arrested in raids conducted in Sheikhupura and Mandi Bahauddin today, informed a deputy director of the FIA.

On Feb 4, FIA apprehended the central character of a human smuggling network that facilitated illegal transportation of Pakistani nationals, who drowned in a shipwreck off Libya on January 31.

As many as 32 Pakistani nationals were aboard the ship that wrecked off Libyan coast on January 31.

Turbat

Turbat ? In November 2017, twenty bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in Turbat, Balochistan. The victims were residents of Punjab who were attempting to reach Europe illegally via Iran.

The prime suspect, Mehboob Shah, was apprehended along with an accomplice, Mudassir, during a raid in Gujrat, said Mufakhir Adeel, deputy director of the FIA.

The apex court had taken a suo motu notice of human smuggling after the tragic discovery in Turbat, Balochistan of bullet-ridden bodies of around a dozen men, mostly from Punjab, who were attempting to illegally crossover into Europe via Iran.