The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW) conducted a significant operation on Monday, uncovering a network allegedly involved in issuing Pakistani passports to Afghan nationals using forged documents. The raid took place at a passport office near Awami Markaz on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi, following intelligence about irregularities in passport application processing.
During the operation, officials thoroughly examined records and seized documents connected to numerous suspicious cases. Notably, an assistant director of the passport office was detained for his suspected involvement in facilitating fraudulent passport issuance to foreign nationals.
This raid is part of a wider crackdown targeting organized groups engaged in document forgery and identity fraud, activities that raise serious national security concerns. Authorities recovered documents linked to the issuance of passports for more than 70 suspected foreign nationals, with preliminary investigations indicating that many of these individuals may be Afghan citizens, though verification is ongoing.
Further investigations are underway to assess the full scope of the network, identify other facilitators, and determine if additional government officials are implicated. Officials have also indicated that more arrests are likely as the probe continues to unfold.
