LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Multan Zone claimed on Saturday to have arrested two alleged human smugglers and intercepted five passengers, including a government employee, while attempting to travel abroad on forged or suspicious documents in separate operations carried out in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan.

FIA Multan Composite Circle arrested Javaid Hussain of Rasoolpur, Multan, in a case registered under Section 22-B of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979. The accused had allegedly extorted Rs600,000 from a complainant on the promise of sending his son to Saudi Arabia on an employment visa but failed to fulfil the commitment.

In another operation, FIA Immigration staff at the Multan International Airport offloaded a female passenger, Muniran Bibi, who was attempting to travel to Bahrain on a visit visa. Officials said that she failed to provide satisfactory details about her travel purpose, accommodation, and financial arrangements.

Examination of her mobile phone revealed contacts with multiple travel agents, including Abdullah (Pakistan), Rana Umair (Bahrain) and Imran Khan (UAE), suspected of facilitating human trafficking. The passenger was handed over to FIA Composite Circle Multan for further investigation.

FIA Immigration also intercepted Muhammad Sajjad, serving as secretary of the union council in the Local Government Department of Mardan, who attempted to travel to Saudi Arabia on a work visa using a forged no objection certificate (NOC) and falsified ex-Pakistan leave documents.

Officials said WhatsApp chats recovered from his phone exposed connivance with a departmental assistant and fabrication of signatures. Sajjad was offloaded and handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Multan for legal proceedings.

In another case, a couple identified as Hub-e-Ali and Zara Batool were offloaded at Multan airport while attempting to travel to Ecuador through ‘deceptive’ means.

They presented Azerbaijan visit visas at immigration clearance, but digital records revealed Ecuador visas concealed on their mobile phones. Preliminary inquiry suggested that they had been guided by agents Bilal of Sargodha and Ali of Lahore, currently residing in Ecuador, who allegedly extorted money and instructed them to hide their true destination.

Separately, FIA Dera Ghazi Khan arrested Muhammad Imran of Chowk Sarwar Shaheed, district Kot Addu, in a case of allegedly extorting Rs580,000 from a complainant for arranging employment in Malaysia by him and his accomplice. They had failed to provide the promised visa or return the money.

Officials said further investigations were underway to trace facilitators and dismantle the networks involved in these human trafficking and smuggling attempts.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2026