Human trafficking: Nisar seeks FIA progress report by next month

Reviews headway so far, receives briefing on mega corruption cases

ISLAMABAD: The country’s top security czar has directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to speed up the campaign against human trafficking and submit a progress report by next month.

Chairing a meeting on Thursday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was briefed on the drive’s progress so far and its future strategy.

The FIA also updated him on mega corruption cases — including the Axact-gate scandal, the AKD Securities case, and the One Constitution Avenue and Pakistan Currency Exchange cases.



The minister was informed that the FIA had arrested 1,245 proclaimed offenders last year, as compared to 911 arrests the year before.

The agency had recovered Rs14.6 billion in 2014-15, as compared to Rs1.6 billion in 2013, Rs210 million in 2012 and Rs200 million in 2011.

Issuing directives on the FIA’s future strategy regarding arrests of absconders who are proclaimed offenders, Nisar said a central data bank of all such accused should be compiled for providing access to countrywide FIA offices, police and secret agencies. He also ordered blocking their passports and identity cards.

FIA authorities told the minister that the names of all proclaimed offenders had been placed on the exit control list and different teams of the agency had been formed for arresting them and the teams had been given specific targets.

Strengthening of existing laws was also discussed during the meeting to curb human trafficking. Nisar said it was necessary to remove lacunas from existing laws to eradicate human trafficking and other illegal businesses so that traffickers could not exploit weaknesses in the law.

He also asked the authorities to strengthen prosecution for punishing those who exploit innocent people and bring a bad name for the country.

Nisar was also briefed about the names of more than 300 universities that were exposed during investigation into the Axact-gate scandal. None of these institutions have been verified by either the Higher Education Commission or the relevant foreign organisation.

The FIA authorities told the minister that 15 of the American institutions in whose name Axact had issued academic degrees were formally declared bogus by the US authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th,  2016