Important revelations have emerged from the investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) into the illegal issuance of Pakistani passports to Afghan citizens.

According to the investigation, an organized network was helping Afghan nationals obtain Pakistani passports by portraying them as Pakistani citizens through fake and suspicious documents. The network allegedly included agents, facilitators, individuals using false identities, and certain officials from the Passport Department and NADRA.

The FIA stated that Family Registration Certificates (FRCs), computerized records, and other identification documents were tampered with to present foreign nationals as Pakistani citizens.

During the initial scrutiny, evidence such as fake or suspicious documents, discrepancies in records, altered photographs, and the repeated use of the same contact number in multiple applications was discovered, indicating an organized fraud scheme.

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Investigators found that 72 Afghan nationals had been issued Pakistani passports. These passports were issued from the Public Center Passport Office in Karachi. Of these, 53 passports were processed by Assistant Director Farooq Sial, while 19 were processed by Night Shift In-Charge Muhammad Baqir Raza.

Following the information received, the FIA’s Counter-Terrorism Wing launched an inquiry and took custody of 72 passport applications and related records from the Regional Passport Office in Karachi.

According to the FIA, the investigation suggests that rules and regulations were violated during the issuance of these passports, and that some relevant officials were allegedly acting in collusion with various facilitators.