KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency on Tuesday conducted raids on two hotels in a Saddar locality and rescued 33 women, who had been brought from different cities of Punjab to be smuggled to the UAE for “sexual exploitation”.

An Anti-Human Trafficking Circle official said that four alleged human traffickers/agents, including one woman, were arrested and 29 passports and other documents were also seized from them.

During the initial probe, it emerged that the women were being sent to the UAE on a visit visa. However, they were to be forced into prostitution, according to the FIA.

EPTB land valued at over Rs2bn recovered

The FIA and Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) have recovered one acre of land valued at over Rs2 billion in Bhimpura, Karachi.

An FIA spokesperson said the Anti-Corruption Unit and EPTB jointly carried out an action in light of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and recovered the land.

During the operation, the illegal occupation of the property’s commercial portion was ended. The FIA said that approximately 160 shops and seven warehouses had been unlawfully constructed on the site, which is located in a prime commercial area of the city.

As per the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) 2024 valuation rates, the estimated value of one acre of land in the area stood at Rs27.22 million. However, current market estimates place its value at over Rs2 billion.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026