Pakistan, July 23 -- Pakistan has stepped up its use of artificial intelligence to combat human smuggling by identifying suspicious travel patterns, detecting emerging trafficking routes and strengthening border screening, while expanding cryptocurrency investigations targeting money laundering and terror financing, a senior immigration official said.

The technology-driven strategy follows the June 2023 capsizing of an overcrowded migrant boat off the Greek town of Pylos that killed 262 Pakistanis among about 650 migrants aboard. One of the deadliest migrant disasters in the Mediterranean, the tragedy prompted Islamabad to intensify its crackdown on human smuggling networks and modernize its immigration and border management systems.

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