FIA offloads 2 passengers at Lahore airport over fake documents, tampered study visa

By Wasif Mahmood

LAHORE -- The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, has foiled two separate attempts to travel abroad using allegedly forged or tampered travel documents, offloading two passengers bound for Malaysia and Cyprus on October 16 and 17, respectively.

In the first incident, a passenger identified as Noor Khan, son of Abdul Rauf Khan, was intercepted while attempting to travel to Malaysia on flight OD-132.

During immigration scrutiny on October 16, officials discovered a fake Chinese visit visa, a forged departure stamp purportedly issued at Karachi Airport, and a fake Malaysian exit stamp on his passport.

During preliminary questioning, the passenger allegedly disclosed that he had obtained the forged travel documents and stamps through an agent identified as Ghaffar, a resident of Rustam, for Rs700,000.

The FIA Immigration officials offloaded the passenger and initiated proceedings to hand him over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Lahore, for further investigation and legal action.

In a separate incident on October 17, FIA Immigration officials intercepted another passenger, identified as Zain-ul-Abideen, son of Riaz Ahmed, who was travelling to Cyprus on Qatar Airways flight QR-621.

A detailed examination of his travel documents revealed alleged alterations to his Cyprus study visa. During preliminary questioning, the passenger reportedly disclosed that he had obtained the study visa through an agent.

The FIA Immigration offloaded him and handed him over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Lahore, for further investigation and legal proceedings.

According to the FIA Immigration Lahore, the agency is maintaining strict surveillance and continuing operations against individuals involved in forged travel documents, illegal migration and human trafficking.

The agency has also reiterated that the misuse of study visas will not be tolerated, stressing that the activities of a few illegal operators and agents must not undermine the international reputation of thousands of genuine Pakistani students.

The FIA Immigration Lahore has vowed to prevent attempts to forge, tamper with or misuse Cyprus study visas and continue action against agents involved in illegal activities and human-trafficking networks.

The agency said such measures were aimed at protecting the interests of genuine Pakistani students seeking education abroad and safeguarding Pakistan's reputation internationally.