Islamabad:
In a major crash, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) anti-human smuggling cell has found a high-profile visa fraud involving the fraudulent issue of Pakistani e-Visas to Afghan citizens using false sponsorships, with alleged complicity to officials from the Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Information.
According to the FIA spokesman, two Afghan nationals were arrested under a targeted RAID in Islamabad’s G-8 sector, while a case has been registered against six people. Raids are in the process of understanding the remaining suspects.
The defendants were reportedly busy out of car exhibition premises in the G-8 area and ran a sophisticated racket that surrounded immigration procedures and compromised national security.
The FIA declared that the entire operation facilitated non-verified Afghan citizens to obtain Pakistani e-Visas within 24 to 48 hours using counterfeit sponsorship documents and stolen identification data, all without notifying intelligence agencies.
FIR, filed by a FIA officer, claims that Fidus was led by Samiullah Afridi, a lower-quality employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Malik Muneur Rehman, a travel agency, Nadir Raheem Abbasi, an employee of the Press Information Department (PID) and several others.
Financial transactions were directed through bank accounts for Afridi’s cousin, Abdul Aziz Afridi, who owns a car exhibition room in the G-8 and is the brother of a foreign office sent as Deputy Head of Deputy at Kabul.
A private bank account attached to Samiullah Afridi allegedly received nearly 40 million RS in suspicious transactions related to the visa rack.
One of the arrested suspects, atif Ahmadzai, an Afghan citizen from Nangarhar Province, was found to run an online travel agency facilitating e-visa applications using false funds, including counterfeit sponsorships, bypassing formal economic channels and using Hawala/Hundi methods of fund transfer.
The gang delivered urgent tourist visas within 24 to 48 hours for $ 750 (with 80% allegedly pocketed by the Ministry of Information Employees).
They also offered other visa categories such as 10-day tourist visas, medical visas and business visas, each for $ 350.
The network allegedly met in areas around Islamabad, including G-8, and had created a streamlined process for Afghan citizens to acquire Pakistani documents without a security investigation. Innocent sponsors were unconsciously implicated, while legitimate visa applicants were deprived of their rights.
According to the FIA, the scheme not only violated immigration protocols, but also posed a significant threat to national security by potentially allowing terror elements to access Pakistan uncontrollably.
When he acted on credible intelligence, FIA attacked showroom and caught Abdul Aziz Afridi and Atif Ahmadzai Red handed.
Ahmadzai proved to be illegal resident in Pakistan and lacked valid travel documentation. Both suspects registered statements confirming that Samiullah Afridi, Malik Muneur Rehman, Nadir Raheem Abbasi and another Afghan national named Ahmad Afghani were active members of the ring and had issued e-visas illegally in exchange for heavy amounts.
