ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) immigration staff at Islamabad Airport foiled an attempt to travel to Europe on a fake visa, officials said.

According to a press release issued by the FIA Islamabad Zone, a passenger from Swat travelling to Saudi Arabia on an Airblue flight, PA-270, was offloaded during secondary profiling.

During detailed scrutiny of his travel documents, the Netherlands visit visa stamped on page 18 of his passport was found to be fake, raising suspicion of his possible links with a human smuggling network.

An examination of his travel record showed that he had previously travelled to several countries, including Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, further strengthening the suspicion of his links with a human smuggling network, the FIA said.

The passenger was handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Islamabad for forensic examination of his mobile phone and further legal action to determine the role of facilitators allegedly involved in the case.

Further investigation is underway.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026