KARACHI: At the very least eight passengers trying to journey to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan by way of separate flights from Karachi have been arrested by the Federal Investigation Company (FIA) on the Jinnah Worldwide Airport on Tuesday.
The FIA spokesperson, in a press release, talked about arresting not less than 5 folks aiming to fly to the gulf nation beneath the guise of performing Umrah.
The company’s official added that the Saudi Arabia-bound passengers have been discovered suspicious when checked for immigration clearance.
Preliminary investigation confirmed that the accused have been flying to the gulf nation with the intention of begging there.
In one other operation, the FIA took three passengers in custody who have been additionally attempting to journey to Azerbaijan on faux paperwork. They have been flying to the Eurasian nation on a research visa.
The company had discovered their paperwork suspicious in the course of the immigration clearance course of.
Asim, an agent belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had organized visas for the arrested travellers to check in Azerbaijan, mentioned the FIA spokesperson.
He added that they have been to obtain their German visas on arrival in Azerbaijan.
The agent was paid Rs300,000 every by Salman and Nauman, whereas Muhammad Hussain paid him Rs800,000.
Hussain, in accordance with the FIA spokesperson, is an worker of the Capital Metropolis Police Peshawar. He was trying to journey on a personal passport with out receiving an no objection certificates (NOC) from his division and didn’t reveal his affiliation with the division.
The event comes weeks after a number of Gulf nations had expressed their considerations relating to Pakistani expatriates and labour power.
Throughout a gathering of the Senate Standing Committee on Abroad Pakistanis in July this yr, Secretary Abroad Pakistanis Dr Arshad apprised the discussion board that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait had voiced reservations on varied points associated to abroad Pakistanis.
The disclosure got here months after the abroad ministry, in September 2023, knowledgeable the identical physique that out of all of the Pakistanis leaving the nation, beggars are going overseas essentially the most.
The official had mentioned that Pakistani beggars journey to Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beneath the guise of ziarat [pilgrimage]. Most individuals go to KSA on Umrah visas after which bask in begging-related actions.
Out of all of the beggars who have been arrested, 90% turned out to be Pakistanis, the secretary had mentioned.
