LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Multan Zone claimed on Friday to have arrested four suspects in as many cases of alleged visa fraud involving a combined amount of Rs2.69 million, according to officials on Friday.

The FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC), Multan, arrested Muhammad Nouman in connection with FIR No. 66/26. He was accused of receiving Rs500,000 from a complainant on the promise of arranging a Dubai work visa but neither fulfilling the commitment nor returning the money.

In another case, Jabran Hameed was booked in FIR No. 384/26 under Section 22-B of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979. He was accused of defrauding Muhammad Rizwan of Rs1.55m on the pretext of arranging employment visas for Dubai.

The promised visas were allegedly not provided, and the money was not returned despite repeated demands.

Similarly, Rashid Minhas was booked in FIR No. 405/26 under Section 22-B of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, for allegedly receiving Rs472,000 from Muhammad Arshad to arrange an employment visa for his son to Saudi Arabia.

The complainant alleged that the promised visa was not provided and the amount was not refunded.

In the fourth case, Muhammad Arsalan Baloch was booked in FIR No. 422/26 under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly receiving Rs241,800 from Humaira Malik Rabnawaz on the promise of arranging a UAE visit visa. He allegedly failed to provide the visa or return the money.

According to the FIA, the three latter suspects were recorded as arrested on bail on Oct 8, while Nouman was taken into custody the same day. Investigations in all four cases were under way.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2026