Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi says Pakistan has effective migration policies that are implemented through robust legal and administrative frameworks.

Addressing the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process on migration issues in Istanbul, he said Pakistan continued to host, on an average, more than a million irregular migrants from neighboring countries and the region for over four decades.

He said these migrants have enjoyed social mobility, employment opportunities and access to health and education. 

Shehryar Afridi underscored that to effectively address migration, law enforcement cooperation needs to be supplemented by efforts to address underlying drivers of irregular migration and opening more avenues for legal migration.

He also invited attention to assess the impact of restrictive visa regime and stringent border controls on the entire cycle of migration.

On the sidelines of the Conference, Shehryar Afridi held meetings with the Ministers of Interior of Turkey, Greece, Croatia as well as the Minister for Refugees of Afghanistan, and exchanged views on various aspects of migration.