FIA arrests suspect in Karachi over fake Gulf job offers targeting women

Karachi: The Federal Investigation Agency's Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi has uncovered a group accused of exploiting women from low-income families by offering them purported jobs in salons and beauty parlours in Gulf countries, according to officials involved in the case.

The investigation led to the arrest of an alleged agent, Haziq Memon, in Hyderabad during an operation linked to the case. The network is accused of targeting women from different rural areas of Sindh with promises of well-paid employment abroad, before forcing them into work at dance bars.

Investigating officer Masroor said the case surfaced after immigration staff at Karachi's Jinnah Terminal stopped a woman on suspicion and referred the matter to the FIA. He said the woman told investigators she had not intended to travel to Dubai and had unknowingly become ensnared in a dangerous network.

According to Masroor, the woman said a female agent had offered her a lucrative salon job in Dubai several months earlier. After reaching Dubai, however, she was allegedly made to work in a dance bar and subjected to sexual exploitation.

The FIA officer said that over a period of three months, hidden cameras were installed in different rooms and obscene videos were recorded without the woman's knowledge. He said that when she later refused to go back to Dubai, members of the group used those videos to threaten her and intimidate her family.

The woman told investigators that the group deliberately preyed on women from needy and impoverished households, first drawing them in with job offers and then pushing them into exploitation. Officials said the main agent worked with several sub-agents to send women to Dubai.

Masroor said Haziq Memon was identified through the woman's mobile phone and was allegedly involved in recruiting women from rural Sindh and arranging their travel, which ultimately led to sexual exploitation in Gulf countries. Investigators are also examining whether the network is active in places other than Dubai. However, when contacted by The Express Tribune, Memom said that he primarily works in real estate and had only helped the woman with immigration arrangements.

Earlier rescue operation

A few days earlier, nearly 33 women were rescued from hotels in Karachi's Saddar area before they were due to be sent to Dubai the following day. Those women were said to be from different cities in Punjab.

Young Pakistanis travelling to Europe after domestic trips are allegedly being drawn into a new international trafficking network. He acknowledged that some women had been sent to dance clubs, but denied having any knowledge of blackmail activities.