The embassy of Pakistan in Greece has warned of a diplomatic disaster in the making as an estimated 10,000 illegal immigrants taken to Turkey by a gang of Pakistani human smugglers are likely to be pushed into Greece and Italy, possibly between now and September.

Since the alarm raised by the Pakistani mission in Athens, security agencies and relevant ministries have been treating it as a crisis situation, but so far no strategy has been worked out to counter the smugglers’ moves.

This is the biggest challenge related to human smuggling that Pakistani security agencies have faced outside the country. Never before has such a large number of people taken illegally to a country with the aim of pushing them into Europe.

The Pakistani ambassador in Athens suggested that the FIA should appoint a liaison officer there to curb human smuggling in a professional manner.

The crisis has been compounded with the revelation that the gang involved included not only a few influential people in Pakistan, but part of a network linked to powerful gangs behind human smuggling in Iran, Turkey and Greece. It is learnt that the Pakistani mission in Athens has told the authorities in Islamabad that, based on information provided by some illegal immigrants, it had reasons to believe that a few police officials in Greece were also part of the network. These officials allegedly helped in providing safe passage, including the safety of armoured vehicles, to illegal immigrants.

The alarm about the new influx of illegal immigrants was raised following a recent relaxation in Greek immigration rules. However, the Pakistani mission in Athens has pointed out that even if these illegal immigrants manage to slip into Greece, they will not be able to benefit from the new rules, which are meant for people already living there for several years. The embassy’s real worry is that these people are likely to create major problems for the Pakistani mission and the country by their illegal and unauthorised presence in Greece.

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