Two booked for defrauding doctor

Authorities say accused deprived medic of $1,900 for Maldives job

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)'s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell has booked two brothers, including a doctor, for fleecing a female doctor under the pretext of securing a work visa for her in the Maldives.

Maldives-based Pakistani doctor Badar Munir Awan and his brother Babar Shahzad of Attock were accused in the case after the allegations were proved under the Immigration Ordinance 1979 as a result of inquiry number 295/24 on the complaint of Dr Fatima Ahad.

The complainant stated in the FIR that the accused deprived her of $1,900 by luring her to a job in a Maldives hospital through illegal means. The accused neither held an overseas employment license nor had any such legal authority.

The suspects promised to change the three-month visa to a year work visa, but they could neither get a work visa nor secure a job for her as a professional doctor, Dr Fatima further stated.

The woman doctor was trapped in a very bad situation in Maldives and her life was threatened due to the behaviour and character of the accused.

The complainant further mentioned in the FIR that she was not only fined $3,000 in the Maldives but also had to return to her homeland at her own expense.

She further accused the suspects of seriously tarnishing her reputation as a professional doctor as the victim was blacklisted in the Maldives as a result of the heinous actions of the accused.

Dr Fatima said that her professional future became dark as she was unable to get a job as a doctor despite having job opportunities in several places.

FIA officials said that a case had been registered against the accused and a detailed investigation would lead to the involvement of other accused.