LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Multan zone claimed on Friday to have arrested seven suspects in separate cases involving alleged visa fraud, illegal issuance of Pakistani identity cards to Afghan nationals and embezzlement of imported wheat worth over Rs15.4 million.
In a human trafficking case, the FIA Bahawalpur composite circle arrested proclaimed offender Zawar Hussain, a resident of Ahmadpur East, in connection with an alleged employment visa fraud.
According to the FIA spokesperson, the suspect allegedly received Rs450,000 from a complainant on the promise of sending him to the United Arab Emirates on an employment visa but failed to fulfil his commitment. The agency report stated that the arrest was made after pre-arrest bail.
In another case, the FIA Multan anti-human trafficking circle arrested Muhammad Saleem, a resident of Khanewal, in Karachi on Oct 29. The suspect allegedly received Rs1.891 million from a complainant on the pretext of arranging Umrah visas for him and his family but provided fake visas.
The FIA Multan anti-corruption circle arrested three assistant superintendents of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in a case involving the alleged illegal issuance of Pakistani computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to Afghan nationals. The suspects were identified as Sohail Akhtar, Muhammad Rifat Iqbal and Waris Naseem, posted at the Nadra office on M.A. Jinnah Road, Multan.
According to the FIA spokesperson, they allegedly facilitated the registration of Afghan nationals as Pakistani citizens by inserting their names into Pakistani families’ records in exchange for illegal gratification.
During interrogation, Sohail Akhtar allegedly disclosed that he had been working as a Nadra agent for three to four years and had facilitated the registration of 14 to 15 Afghan nationals. The agency also reported recovering WhatsApp chats with Nadra officials from his mobile phone.
He allegedly disclosed that Rs300,000 was charged for each CNIC, of which Rs100,000 was paid to Nadra officials, Rs100,000 to Pakistani families and Rs100,000 retained as commission.In a separate case, the FIA Multan anti-corruption circle arrested Muhammad Shafiq, a commission agent from Dunyapur and Muhammad Shabir, a resident of Kahror Pacca in Lodhran district, over alleged embezzlement involving 1,000 bags of imported wheat.
According to the spokesperson, the suspects, allegedly acting in connivance with other accused persons, embezzled wheat worth Rs15.46 million and encashed wheat bills issued by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) using different CNICs, allegedly causing a loss to the national exchequer.The FIA spokesperson said investigations into all cases were under way.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026
