KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made prior clearance mandatory for passengers from other provinces who intend to travel abroad from Karachi.

According to FIA officials, any person who has never traveled abroad before and is not a resident of Sindh will be stopped at the airport until proper verification is completed.

Officials explained that many individuals from other provinces attempt to travel overseas via Karachi, often misled by agents who exploit them and later transport them illegally by boat.

Under the new policy, passengers from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and other provinces will undergo additional screening before being allowed to board international flights. First-time travelers holding Punjab-issued passports have been advised to depart from their nearest airports, not Karachi.

Meanwhile, sources revealed that 57 passengers were offloaded today from Saudi Airlines flight SV-709, including 35 Umrah pilgrims and 22 workers traveling on employment visas. FIA officials also confirmed that no immigration stamps were placed on the offloaded passengers’ passports.