Sindh govt to take over Sarim Burney Trust amid child trafficking probe

The Sindh government has decided to take control of the Sarim Burney Trust following allegations of child smuggling, Express News reported.

This move comes after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) requested intervention due to the trust's alleged involvement in smuggling children to the United States and other countries.

On June 6, a team of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Circle arrested renowned philanthropist and human rights activist Sarim Burney at the international arrival lounge of the Karachi airport on his return from the US.

The Sindh Department of Social Welfare will oversee the operations of the Sarim Burney orphanage in Karachi.

An official order has been issued by the director general of the Social Welfare Department to implement this decision.

The case of child smuggling and document tampering was heard in the court of Judicial Magistrate Yusra Ashfaq on July 12.

The accused, Sarim Burney, was presented in court via video link. The FIA requested the court to allow them to record the statements of the trustees, including Advocate Ejaz Khattak and Advocate Qadir Hussain.

The court granted permission to record their statements. The FIA also requested a search warrant for the trust's premises, which was approved by the court. Additionally, the FIA requested to record the statement of the parents of the smuggled child under Section 164, which was also accepted by the court.

The court remarked that any evidence collected during the search warrant should be presented in court. The hearing was adjourned until July 25.

Later, Sarim Burney, arrested on charges of child trafficking and document forgery, was transferred to a hospital from court lockup due to health issues.