Haqnawaz shinwari
PESHAWAR
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded five passengers at Peshawar International Airport after suspecting they were attempting to use Umrah visas to travel onward to Libya through Saudi Arabia.
According to the FIA, the passengers were scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia on Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-217.
During secondary profiling, officials examined the passengers’ mobile phones and other travel-related information, which raised suspicions of possible human smuggling.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the passengers allegedly intended to use Saudi Arabia as a transit point before travelling to Libya and other countries under the cover of Umrah visas.
The action was initiated following information flagged by FIA Investigation Officer Haseeb Jamal. The five passengers were subsequently offloaded and handed over to the FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Peshawar for further legal proceedings and detailed investigation.
FIA officials said the investigation is ongoing to determine whether the case is linked to an organised human smuggling network.
