KARACHI: A judicial magistrate has accepted the final charge sheet filed in a child trafficking case against Sarim Burney and issued a non-bailable warrant for the arrest of his wife.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) investigating officer Sub-Inspector Bilal Ahmed submitted the final charge sheet and accused social worker Sarim Burney; his wife, Aliya Naheed Malik and others of committing offences under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 201 (disappearance of evidence), and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with Sections 3 (trafficking in persons), 4 (aggravating circumstances), and 5 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018.

After reviewing the report and hearing the defence, Judicial Magistrate (East) Khalique Zaman took cognizance of the case and issued non-bailable warrants against the ‘absconding’ suspects, including the wife of the prime suspect.

The IO had listed their names in column two of the charge sheet in red ink.

In his order, the judge observed, “I have heard both parties and reviewed the available record. It appears that the minors were transferred from Pakistan to a foreign country. Custody was provided to adoptive parents without the consent of the biological parents.”

The judge further noted, “The accused also made false declarations and concealed facts before the family court. The accused appear to be part of an organised group transporting minors from Pakistan to other countries in exchange for monetary consideration.”

In the final charge sheet, the IO stated that during the investigation, it was found that Mr Burney’s wife is one of the trustees of the Sarim Burney Welfare Trust and is ‘authorised to oversee the administration of the shelter home’ and manage operational matters.

He added that he had made efforts to locate and apprehend the absconding suspects, but they had gone underground to evade arrest.

The IO claimed that the prime suspect (Mr Burney) and his accomplices ‘knowingly and willfully provided false information, made false declarations, and concealed facts’ before the court, claiming that the three baby girls were found ‘abandoned’ outside the Sarim Burney Welfare Trust and that they had ‘made every effort to locate their parents,’ but no one came forward.

However, in communications with the FIA and the US Embassy regarding immigrant visas for the baby girls, the trust allegedly stated that the children were brought to the trust by their biological parents.

The IO further stated that a DNA test was conducted on the three baby girls after obtaining permission from the court, revealing that Ms Afsheen is the mother of Haya Yasir (aka Muntaha) and Wasif Shabbir is the father of Zehra Fatima and Sarah Fatima.

He claimed that the trust had handed over the babies to US nationals in exchange for a total of $6,000, without obtaining the consent or knowledge of their biological parents.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2024