'FIA officials sacked over misconduct'

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhary informed the National Assembly on Thursday that 51 officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been dismissed over the past two years for various types of misconduct.

Speaking during the question hour, the minister said the FIA has an effective internal accountability system to take disciplinary action against its personnel involved in wrongdoing.

He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority (NCCIA), particularly in addressing cybercrime across the country.

He told the House that a Director General had been appointed to lead the NCCIA and that about 500 personnel were currently working in the authority. A proposal has also been submitted to hire additional staff to enhance its capacity.

Crackdown

The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Counter-Terrorism Wing in Islamabad has intensified its crackdown on an international gang involved in issuing fake Pakistani CNICs, machine-readable passports and Saudi Arabia work visas to Afghan nationals and other foreigners.

Acting on intelligence reports, the Agency has arrested three more suspects linked to the network, bringing the total number of arrests to five.

According to officials, the latest arrests—made during raids conducted in the last 24 hours—include Muhammad Alam Zeb, Asif Khan and Haroon Rashid.

Investigations have revealed that Zeb facilitated Saudi work visas for 31 Afghan nationals using Pakistani passports. Asif Khan reportedly arranged similar visas for four Afghan citizens, while Haroon Rashid enabled the issuance of Saudi visas for 58 Afghans.

On Tuesday, two other suspects—Muhammad Ishaq Khan and Syed Ahsan Shah—were arrested. Shah is accused of helping 580 Afghan nationals secure Saudi work visas with forged Pakistani documentation, while Ishaq Khan allegedly assisted 22 individuals.

Together, the five suspects are believed to have facilitated a total of 693 Afghan nationals in obtaining Saudi work visas using fraudulent Pakistani CNICs and passports.

Authorities noted that the involvement of officials from the Immigration and Passport Office and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in the scam will be determined during investigation.

Further raids are being carried out to apprehend other members of the network.