Pakistan Sri Lanka Interior Ministry Cooperation Set to Expand Through New Joint Working Group

Pakistan & Sri Lanka – (Web Desk) – Pakistan Sri Lanka interior ministry cooperation has taken a major step forward after the two countries agreed to form a joint working group. The decision came during a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ananda Wijepala, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Officials from Pakistan’s interior ministry confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday. The new working group will focus on stopping illegal migration, fake travel documents, and other cross-border crimes.

Both ministers also spoke about ways to strengthen ties in border security, policing, drug control, and immigration matters. They agreed that solving visa-related problems should be a top priority going forward.

This meeting comes at a time when Pakistan is working hard to stop human smuggling. In recent years, several migrant boats carrying Pakistani nationals have sunk, leading to many deaths. These tragic events pushed the government to act more firmly against smuggling networks.

According to officials, Pakistan arrested over 1,700 human smugglers last year alone. This effort helped bring down illegal migration to Europe by 47 percent. The country has also introduced a new AI-based screening system at airports and border points. This system helps spot fake passports and stops people from leaving illegally.

During the New York meeting, Naqvi and Wijepala also talked about working closer together on drug control and police training programs. Officers from both nations may soon get the chance to learn from each other’s experience.

The two sides also discussed signing an agreement to fight organized crime and money laundering. This step could open the door for deeper legal and security cooperation between Islamabad and Colombo in the coming months.

With this new partnership, both countries hope to build stronger systems that protect their citizens from human trafficking and document fraud, while also improving trust between their police and immigration departments.