Bridging the Jurisdictional Gap: The Underutilization of the Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan's Maritime Domain Under Joint Maritime Information Organisation Act, 2019

Abstract

The paper will discuss the limited legal role that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Pakistan is granted by the Joint Maritime Information Organisation Act, 2019. Although the FIA has a broad jurisdiction covering counter-terrorism, anti-money laundering, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime cases, the JMIO Act, 2019 only covers the agency to issues of immigration. This study examines the mismatch between the real legal capability of the FIA and its limited role at the Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre (JMICC). By conducting comparative analysis of National Command Authority Act, 2010, and the National Counter Terrorism Authority Act, 2013, this paper reveals that there are critical areas in maritime security in Pakistan. The results indicate that an ideal exploitation of the FIA legal requirement would greatly improve the ability of Pakistan to combat maritime crimes such as terrorism financing, money laundering and cyber-facilitated crimes in the Pakistani waters. Some of the recommendations are changes in legislation to increase the role of FIA as a part of the JMIO framework and improving the mechanisms of inter-agency coordination to counter transnational maritime threats, especially those to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

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