LONDON: A major scandal concerning black market in passports has exploded in Pakistan’s face as a result of the arrest and trial of alleged Pakistani racketeers in various parts of Britain. If it were not for the preoccupation of British news media with the death of Sir Winston Churchill, the current trial of 10 Pakistanis at the Bradford Magistrate’s Court would doubtless command greater attention of the British Press, television, and radio. Even so, it has already condemned Pakistani settlers in places like Nottingham, Bradford and Sheffield to the position of pariahs. One of the 10 Pakistanis now on trial in Bradford, a former clerk at the Pakistan High Commission in London, Mohammed Saeed, was accused on Wednesday by the prosecuting counsel of being “utterly corrupt” and of “trafficking” in forged and stolen passports. Alleging that Saeed demanded and received up to 40 pounds sterling for passports normally costing fifteen shillings (10 rupees) the counsel, Mr Castle-Miller, said that “if the prosecution evidence is right he has made a lot of money out of it”.

In the two statements made by Saeed to the Police, he is alleged to have implicated certain senior officials at the Pakistan High Commission in the passport racket. Mr Castle-Miller told the court that if there was sufficient evidence to charge any of the officials in the High Commission holding diplomatic privilege with a criminal offence, the High Commissioner, Mr Agha Hilaly, had indicated that the officials would not be able to plead diplomatic immunity.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2015

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