FIA arrests absconding suspect over Rs350,000 Iraq job fraud
The suspect had been in hiding for two years after a complaint that he took money for a job in Iraq and sent the man through Iran.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Faisalabad arrested on Saturday a proclaimed offender accused of taking Rs350,000 from a citizen for a job in Iraq, the FIA said.
The suspect, Hasnain Pasha, is a resident of Sialkot, and the FIA said a case was registered against him and his associates at the FIA police station in Faisalabad in 2024 under the Immigration Ordinance.
The case was filed on the complaint of Hasnain Shah, a resident of Jhang, and the FIA said the suspect was declared a proclaimed offender after he fled following the registration of the case.
The suspect had remained in hiding for the past two years, the FIA said.
The FIA said Pasha took Rs350,000 from Ghazanfar, a cousin of the complainant, on the promise of arranging a job in Iraq.
The FIA said Ghazanfar was sent to Iraq illegally through Iran, where local police arrested him immediately after he arrived.
The FIA said the suspect did not return the money to the affected family and instead went into hiding.
The FIA said its team raided a location based on a tip-off and arrested Pasha, and further investigation is under way.
Overseas job offers are a long-standing concern for Pakistani job seekers, and fake recruiters often take large sums of money from applicants and their families.
People who travel abroad through irregular routes face serious risks, including arrest in a foreign country, which the case of Ghazanfar illustrates.
