FIA foils bid to smuggle 11-month-old girl

In separate incident, man dies in fall from elevator

RAWALPINDI:

FIA immigration thwarts an attempt to smuggle an 11-month-old Afghan girl abroad from the New Islamabad International Airport on fake documents. Three Afghans were also arrested for making fake travel documents on revelations of a woman who attempted to take the girl abroad on illegal documents.

According to officials, a briefing on a special flight to Qatar was under way when Akhtar Mina Shinwari, an Afghan woman, arrived at the immigration counter with 11-month-old girl Zainab Shinwari. During the checking, the girl's travel documents were found to be fake.

The woman and child were offloaded and the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Cell was called.

In the initial investigation, the passengers identified three other suspects, who had forged documents. The FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Islamabad registered a case and arrested three Afghan citizens identified as Abdul Wasi, Ahmed Tanin and Saeed Janan. Officials said the accused were produced in court and obtained a three-day physical remand and further investigation is under way.

In a separate incident, thirty-year-old Ali Raza fell to death when a local wedding hall elevator collapsed within the limits of the Dhamial police station on Monday. After receiving information about the incident, Rescue 1122 workers reached the site and shifted the body to the District Headquarters Hospital for completing legal and medical formalities.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2022.