FIA arrests most ‘wanted’ human trafficker

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) Islamabad circle has arrested the most ‘wanted’ human trafficker for his involvement in sending citizens to Europe through illegal means.

According to FIA, accused Nisar Ahmed Jija was involved in human smuggling and was arrested in an intelligence-based operation in Gujranwala.

Nisar Ahmed used to extort millions of rupees from innocent citizens on the pretence of getting them employed and used to smuggle them to Europe through Libya.

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Nisar has been on the FIA Islamabad Circle’s most-wanted list for the past 10 years. An intelligence-based operation had been underway for the past three days to arrest him.

A case had been filed against him in 2014 in the FIA human trafficking circle.

The accused is being interrogated, and more arrests are expected on his identification of accomplices involved in the heinous business of human smuggling.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has dir­ected the authorities concer­ned to take strict punitive action within a week against culprits involved in human trafficking.

Prime Minister Shehbaz also ordered the formation of a committee headed by the interior minister to find a permanent solution to end human trafficking issue.

Human trafficking is not an uncommon practice, as many people from the Global South attempt to enter European borders through an ‘illegal’ passage which is also called ‘donkey route’ by locals in both Pakistan and India.

Last year, more than a hundred Pakistanis drowned off the Greek shore when an overloaded boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the witnesses, the fishing boat with limited capacity was carrying around 400 to 750 people. While the disaster was dubbed as one of the worst one in years, it seems that it was not able to deter Pakistanis from attempting to cross the borders, risking their lives.

The FIA then also took action and registered more than 50 cases against human smugglers in Gujrat, Lahore and Gujranwala, and said that a plan was being devised to prevent such incidents in the future.