FIA arrests eight passengers trying to travel abroad on fake documents from Karachi airport
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KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday arrested eight individuals attempting to travel abroad using fake documents in two separate operations at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
In the first operation, five passengers were arrested while trying to travel to Saudi Arabia under the pretense of performing Umrah, according to an FIA spokesperson. The passengers were flagged as suspicious during the immigration clearance process.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the individuals intended to beg in Saudi Arabia rather than perform Umrah.
In the second operation, three passengers were detained for attempting to travel to Azerbaijan with forged documents, reportedly on a study visa. The FIA discovered inconsistencies in their documents during the immigration clearance.
The spokesperson stated that Asim, an agent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had arranged the visas for the travelers. The travelers were supposed to receive German visas upon arrival in Azerbaijan.
The agent had charged Rs300,000 each from two of the passengers, Salman and Nauman, while Muhammad Hussain paid Rs800,000. Hussain, an employee of the Capital City Police Peshawar, was attempting to travel on a private passport without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from his department, and had concealed his employment status.
This development comes amidst concerns expressed by several Gulf countries over the behavior of Pakistani expatriates. During a Senate Standing Committee meeting on Overseas Pakistanis in July, Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Arshad highlighted that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait had raised issues related to Pakistani expatriates.
Earlier, in September 2023, the overseas ministry informed the same body that a significant number of Pakistani beggars were traveling abroad, particularly to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, under the guise of pilgrimage. The ministry reported that 90% of the beggars arrested in these countries were of Pakistani origin.
