Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistan: ICMPD Migrant Resource Centres (MRC) in Pakistan demonstrated once again the progress of their awareness-raising activities as well as outreach activities across the country. Beyond the raw data it is important to highlight human stories. One such example from September 2021 was the story of Mr. Nadeem who wanted to accept a new job offer while working for a Pakistani company in Qatar. Unsure of what to do Mr. Nadeem contacted the MRC through their hotline, which was one of the most used communication channels last month, along with the WhatsApp messaging service. Our counsellors successfully guided Mr. Nadeem through the required visa cancellation process, which allowed him to pursue his new job.

Vienna, Austria: Sadly it is often the case that migrants in desperate situations are preyed on and exploited by human traffickers and people smugglers. These people want to make money at the expense of migrants - often lying about life in destination countries and generally making false promises - and often have no regard for their safety or security. Would-be migrants should always follow regular channels and our Migrants Resource Centres (MRCs) are always available to provide neutral, fact-based advice.

Vienna, Austria: The Budapest Process Secretariat and ICMPD's Regional Office for the Silk Routes in 2021 produced a number of reports on migration related topics, one of which is Regional Migration Outlook 2021 for South and West Asia (Silk Routes) that provides an analysis of the key and emerging trends in the region’s “hotspots”, focusing on Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan (and India and Iran tangentially).