ISLAMABAD, June 2: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) allegedly helped a man to travel to Canada fraudulently by using the passport of his brother living there, sources told Dawn here on Thursday. The fraud was discovered by the Canadian authorities when the man, Sajid Awan, tore up the Canadian passport of his brother, Omer Farooq Awan, after landing at Toronto and sought asylum.

FIA’s immigration staff at Islamabad airport cleared Sajid Awan, a resident of Gujrat, for boarding PIA’s flight PK-781 for Toronto on May 27 after receiving a call from a senior FIA official to accord Sajid VIP protocol and clear him without any checking, the sources said.

An FIA official confirmed the incident to Dawn but denied the involvement of any colleague in it. The Canadian immigration authorities asked PIA to send them Sajid’s travel documents.

When contacted, PIA spokesman Mohammad Latif said the airline would comply with the Canadian authorities’ request but said it was the duty of the law enforcement agency to check a passenger’s documents.