Forensic Document Examination Training in Lahore for Immigration Officials 

 

 

29 November 2016, Lahore -  As part of its ongoing assistance programme in Pakistan, UNODC COPAK organised a forensic document examination training session on 28 and 29 of November 2016, focusing on travel documents. This session was designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of frontline immigration officers from Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Lahore airports. 

In recent years the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has reported an increase in migrant smuggling attempts from Pakistan. The smugglers facilitate illegal passage by providing altered and forged travel documents including passports, resident cards and visas from various countries.

The immigration officers participating in the session benefited from the practical knowledge of professional trainers from the high commissions of South Africa, Canada and Kenya, in addition to the embassies of Poland and Bulgaria. The trainers imparted their expertise in identifying forged and fraudulently altered documents to the participants. 

Mr Sajid Akram Chaudhry, FIA Deputy Director of Immigration and Anti Human Smuggling, speaking on behalf of Dr Usman Anwar, FIA Director (Punjab), thanked the UNODC for promptly organising this training session at the FIA's request. He also highlighted the importance of training in document identification and expressed appreciation for the UNODC's ongoing assistance in combating human trafficking and migrant smuggling from Pakistan.

During the closing session, Ms Rehana Permall, on behalf of UNODC Representative Mr Cesar Guedes, thanked the trainers from South Africa, Kenya, Canada, Poland and Bulgaria along with the FIA participants for attending this important training session.  On this occasion, Ms Permall assured the FIA's senior management of the continued partnership between the UNODC and Government of Pakistan under its upcoming second Country Programme (2016-2019).