Gang involved in smuggling girls to Middle East smashed

LAHORE
A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore team early Friday busted a gang of human smugglers, who have allegedly smuggled over 100 young girls to Middle East for club dance and night functions, until now.
The team, led by Inspector Mian Muhammad Anwar, constables Muhammad Akmal and Muhammad Imran, with the help of Sabzazar police, raided Aslam Building near Shah Noor Studios and arrested four human smugglers. Those arrested were gang leader Ali Pathan, and his accomplices Liaquat Ali, Shahbaz Ali Khan and Husnain Basharat.
The team also arrested two young girls, real sisters, from the two-room flat, who were being blackmailed by the accused. They were told to get ready to perform in dance bars in Middle East otherwise their objectionable videos and photographs would be uploaded onto social media.
The raiding team also recovered 31 passports of young girls, 57 video cassettes, 180 photographs, albums, DVDs, fake medial certificates, computers, stamp papers, cheque books, etc., from the flat as well.
Inspector Mian Anwar told The News on Friday the both women, Hina Basharat, 25, and Sunaina Basharat, 26, told them that they had visited the Gulf countries thrice on different occasion in the past and now they were being blackmailed by the smugglers to visit those countries again for working in dance clubs.
“Our photographs and videos are in the possession of Ali Pathan,” the girls said.
They said the smugglers assured them of paying Rs300,000 for a three-month trip for dance in different bars. Hina and Sunaina told the FIA the smugglers charged Rs100,000 from each girl before handing them their passports to leave for Middle East. The sisters told the FIA they were not paid the promised money in lump sum but in instalments.
The inspector said the raiding team recovered at least 47 stamp papers in which about 13 different conditions were mentioned. How the girls should move around in the Gulf countries and what they should do if they get pregnant, etc., were among some of the terms and conditions, he said. Both the sisters further stated the smugglers had got their signatures on a blank paper. The girls told the FIA team they were doing all that only because of poverty.
The inspector said all the recovered material would be sent to forensic lab for tests.
Talking to The News, ring leader Ali Pathan admitted that they had sent over 100 young girls to Gulf states during the last three years. “We used to get Rs20,000 as commission from our clients for each girl we send there,” he said adding that lately he was sending these girls to a Pakistani named Sajid Mughal, the owner of a bar in Dubai.
The accused, who has spent over 15 years in Gulf as a waiter in different bars, further said he met Sajid last month and was requested to arrange a group of 12 young girls. “I was arranging the girls to be sent to Sajid in the last week of March,” Pathan said.
A resident of Gujrat, who had come to Lahore some six to seven years ago, Ali Pathan said he was running a business of drama production in the name of Ali Productions and Art Academy involving renowned Pakistani actors as well.
“I have successfully arranged quite a few stage dramas in Gulf states in the past,” he added. He claimed that he opted for human smuggling ‘business’ after the drama business started going down. Pathan said every bar of in Gulf States has a large number of Pakistani girls, who perform dance to earn money.
“Our clients ask us to arrange for girls between the ages of 22 to 32.” As per the law of Gulf states, he said girls under the age of 21 are not allowed there. “I am the middle man only. Every girl receives over Rs100,000 for each trip. All expenses including of passports, visas, residence, etc., are borne by the clients.” He claimed that Shah Noor Studios was a hub of girls trafficking to the Middle East.
In the meanwhile, the FIA registered an FIR No 296/15 under different sections including 17/18/22/EO 1979, 6PA, 1974, 3/4 HTO 2002 and PPC 34 against the accused and further investigations were under way.
It is pertinent to mention here that about a month back FIA’s Immigration officials had arrested a ‘talent promoter’ from the Allama Iqbal Airport Lahore along with two girls.