Uzbek girl’s escape: FIA investigator suspended for negligence
Inspector Mehar Tasneem failed to alert airport authorities about possibility of Cherinka Aksan’s escape.
Inspector Mehar Tasneem failed to alert airport authorities about possibility of Cherinka Aksan’s escape. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
A top Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official has suspended an investigator for negligence in the case of the Uzbek girl who violated her bail and fled Pakistan two weeks ago.
Talking to The Express Tribune, official sources said FIA Islamabad Zone Director Inam Ghani suspended Inspector Mehar Tasneem of the agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) after it was learnt that her negligence had allowed the Uzbek girl, Cherinka Aksan, to escape.
According to the sources, Ghani had ordered a departmental inquiry under the supervision of AHTC Assistant Director Babar Khan to find out how Aksan managed to fly back to Uzbekistan while on bail. The inquiry, they said, revealed that Tasneem never requested the interior ministry to put Aksan’s name on the exit control list (ECL) and failed to caution airport authorities against the possibility of her escape.
A show cause notice was then issued to Tasneem on the basis of the report. After being provided a chance to explain her position, she was suspended on Thursday.
FIA arrested Aksan along with seven other Uzbek girls following a raid in an upscale Islamabad neighbourhood on February 17. A case was registered against them after they failed to produce any valid documents to verify the reason for their stay in the country.
The eight Uzbek girls secured bail last month. Aksan, however, violated the bail and fled back to Uzbekistan on March 25.The names of the other seven girls were subsequently placed on the ECL.
Earlier, on January 30, two other Uzbek girls – Svetlana Yashkina and Allina Gilayzova – entered Pakistan without undergoing immigration after being assisted by some FIA immigration officials. The human trafficking gang could not be traced despite the lapse of three months. The interior ministry suspended five immigration officers over the incident.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2014.
A top Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official has suspended an investigator for negligence in the case of the Uzbek girl who violated her bail and fled Pakistan two weeks ago.
Talking to The Express Tribune, official sources said FIA Islamabad Zone Director Inam Ghani suspended Inspector Mehar Tasneem of the agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) after it was learnt that her negligence had allowed the Uzbek girl, Cherinka Aksan, to escape.
According to the sources, Ghani had ordered a departmental inquiry under the supervision of AHTC Assistant Director Babar Khan to find out how Aksan managed to fly back to Uzbekistan while on bail. The inquiry, they said, revealed that Tasneem never requested the interior ministry to put Aksan’s name on the exit control list (ECL) and failed to caution airport authorities against the possibility of her escape.
A show cause notice was then issued to Tasneem on the basis of the report. After being provided a chance to explain her position, she was suspended on Thursday.
FIA arrested Aksan along with seven other Uzbek girls following a raid in an upscale Islamabad neighbourhood on February 17. A case was registered against them after they failed to produce any valid documents to verify the reason for their stay in the country.
The eight Uzbek girls secured bail last month. Aksan, however, violated the bail and fled back to Uzbekistan on March 25.The names of the other seven girls were subsequently placed on the ECL.
Earlier, on January 30, two other Uzbek girls – Svetlana Yashkina and Allina Gilayzova – entered Pakistan without undergoing immigration after being assisted by some FIA immigration officials. The human trafficking gang could not be traced despite the lapse of three months. The interior ministry suspended five immigration officers over the incident.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2014.