ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan has emerged as a new transit point for illegal migration to Europe, with thousands of Pakistani nationals reportedly failing to return after traveling on visit and tourist visas, according to an Interior Ministry document.
The report revealed that a total of 106,634 Pakistanis have visited Azerbaijan within the last three years, whereas no data was available regarding the return of 7,721 people.
It is believed by officials that most of those missing people may have used Azerbaijan to travel further into Europe as part of their illegal journey through human trafficking operations.
As per the data presented in the report, 5,447 of the missing Pakistani nationals had travelled on visas for visit or tourism.
Furthermore, the report stated that the number of missing people has risen to 17.96 percent in the first five months of 2026 with 2,550 Pakistani nationals reported missing. It means that around one in every six Pakistani travellers to Azerbaijan remains missing in the period.
According to the Interior Ministry, 2,676 Pakistanis had not returned to Pakistan in 2024 after visiting Azerbaijan, whereas in 2025 the number was 2,495.
