Another case of human trafficking surfaces

 

 

Aftab Maken Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ISLAMABAD: Another case of human trafficking has surfaced in British Council (BC), an NGO working under the umbrella of British High Commission, after three officials of the Council with the connivance of British Consulate, Karachi sent fake students and teachers from Sindh and Balochistan to the UK under a programme of “connecting classroom”, The News learnt reliably on Thursday.

Three officials of the BC including Mashood Rizvi, Nabeel Alvi and Mr Azhar with the support of British Consulate, Karachi sent nearly 200 fake students and teachers from the districts of Sindh and Balochistan to the UK under the scheme, an official privy to the visa scam told this correspondent but requested not to be named for the sensitivity of the issue.

These officials with the blessing of British Consulate, Karachi even sent some students belonging to “banned outfits in Pakistan” under this policy. They also sent students and teachers who did not qualify the criteria, the same official maintained.

“The British Council Pakistan has suspended some of its staff in its Karachi office on account of allegations of fraud. The British Council’s investigation is underway and we cannot comment on the matter at this stage in order to ensure a fair and thorough enquiry into the matter.

The British Council does not accept any level of fraud, bribery or corruption within the organisation as part of its ‘zero tolerance’ policy,” spokesman of the programme, Fasih Zaka, said while replying to queries of this scribe.

Mashood Rizvi refused to comment on the issue while the two other accused could not be reached as their cell phones were off.

A UK paper in October this year reported that authorities had arrested a visa officer at the British High Commission as part of an investigation into a human smuggling ring, on suspicion of selling sponsorship letters to the people hoping to obtain a visa for the UK.

When contacted British High Commission’s senior manger, press and public affairs, Imran Rana, in Islamabad on cell phone, he said only Mr Zaka would speak on the issue.

The Council is not only hushing up the issue but also putting the scam under the carpet by not reporting it to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which normally takes cases of human trafficking, and other concerned departments, an official at the FIA told this correspondent and also requested not to mention his name because he is not authorized to speak with media.

The BC has only sacked Mr Azhar while the two other officials, who were responsible for signing and processing the necessary action, escaped and the facts were being concealed from the Pakistani authorities, the same official maintained.

Last year UK Border Agency officers detected almost 6,000 forged travel or supporting documents in visa applications made in Pakistan.

And earlier this year officials broke up a sham weddings ring. Slovakian women would fly into the country to marry Pakistani men, who would then apply for a visa based on forged documents suggesting their wives lived in the UK.