Germany, Poland deport illegal Pakistanis by chartered flight

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Pakistani authorities were on Thursday interrogating more than a dozen illegal immigrants after they were deported by Germany and Poland, officials said.</p>
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A chartered flight carrying 27 people deported by Germany and two from Poland landed in Islamabad, <em>DPA news agency </em>quotd Sheikh Naeem from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that deals with immigration, as saying.</p>
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Immigration authorities released 10 of the deportees but arrested the rest for questioning, another FIA official Amjad Khan said.</p>
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They have been charged with leaving the country through illegal means including with the help of people smugglers, Khan said.</p>
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Rejected asylum-seekers and those who tried to enter the European countries on fake documents were among the deportees, the two officials said.</p>
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The FIA has arrested several dozen suspected people smugglers from Punjab province in the crackdown launched some three years ago.</p>
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Thousands of young Pakistanis try to reach countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain every year in anticipation of a better future.</p>
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They pay millions to human traffickers to take them to Europe through a dangerous land and sea route that goes through Iran, Turkey and Greece.</p>
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Hundreds of illegal immigrants either die on their way or end up in jail in one of these countries.</p>
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<em>(IANS)</em></p>