Trapped at Karachi airport after profile reveals insufficient funds; network of agents revealed during interrogation
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). PHOTO: ARCHIVE
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) disembarked 23 passengers at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Friday. An FIA spokesperson said people were attempting to travel to Malaysia on visit visas with the intention of working illegally.
The passengers, who were on flight D7-109, admitted during interrogation that they planned to stay longer and work illegally in Malaysia. They came from various areas including Karachi, Lower Dir, Mardan, Swat, Bajaur, Bannu, Gujrat and Peshawar.
Read: 66,154 air travelers disembarked this year, FIA tells NA body
Investigation revealed that the passengers were traveling through an agent, Muhammad Owais, who said the visas had been arranged by a passenger, Waseem Khan, through another agent named Stefan. Visa payments were made through bank transfers.
Immigration checks revealed that the passengers lacked sufficient funds and failed to provide the mandatory bank statements required for visit visas to Malaysia.
Read more: LHC declares unloading passengers illegal without written reason
The passengers were handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi for further verification and legal procedures.
The FIA told a parliamentary panel this week that it has offloaded more than 66,000 passengers this year to prevent organized networks from facilitating illegal travel. Earlier this year, the Lahore High Court ruled that immigration officials cannot restrain passengers based solely on verbal orders, following a series of offloading incidents across the country.
