FIA intercepts four women suspected of being trafficked for forced labour in Saudi Arabia
Nazir Siyal
KARACHI: Nearly 170 Pakistanis have been deported from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and several other countries during the last 48-hours, with 24 individuals taken into custody upon arrival in Karachi.
According to immigration sources, the Saudi authorities deported 94 Pakistanis within 48 hours on various charges, including blacklisting, begging, drug dealing, illegal residence, working without a sponsor, absconding from employment, and violating contractual agreements.
Other deportations included three individuals from Oman, one from Thailand, nine from Iraq, one each from the United Kingdom and Cyprus, four from Indonesia and five from Mauritania on charges of human smuggling.
Additionally, two individuals were deported from Qatar due to insufficient travel funds, and one Pakistani was removed from Tanzania.
In the UAE, 39 Pakistanis were deported in the past two days after serving sentences for illegal activities and other violations.
Seven of the deported individuals were identified as blacklisted in the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS). Officials confirmed that several deportees had been involved in financial and immigration-related offences.
Meanwhile, authorities offloaded 59 passengers from flights bound for 21 countries, including the UK, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, and Malawi, due to visa and travel documentation issues.
Among those offloaded, 21 Umrah pilgrims were denied travel because of insufficient hotel bookings and funds. A passenger traveling to Italy was offloaded after his asylum request was rejected, while another heading to the UK on a student visa and four individuals traveling to Cyprus on study visas were also prevented from flying.
Additionally, passengers attempting to travel to Turkiye, the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Iraq, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were stopped. Four passengers, including one blacklisted individual, were denied boarding from Oman as well.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration Unit at Karachi Airport also intercepted four women traveling on Umrah visas, suspecting they were being trafficked for forced labour in Saudi Arabia. According to FIA, the women had previously traveled to Saudi Arabia, and authorities suspected a trafficking network at play.
A woman named Aasia was identified as the facilitator behind their travel arrangements. She was previously employed by Punjab Police and had financed the travel expenses for all four women.
Further a Saudi-based agent, Waseem Gujar, had facilitated their stay and covered their expenses there.
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