Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday cleared Garden Town Passport Office Assistant Director, Iqbal Shahid from criminal prosecution after an investigation pronounced him innocent of any act regarding issuing of fake passports to the Afghans.
FIA Investigation officer Shahid Pervaiz told APP that FIA had arrested Afghan nationals from outside the Garden Town passport office as they bribed the passport office staff to decree fake passports in their names. It was also learnt that the arrested Afghans were carrying fake CNICs. Shahid said that FIA had initiated the probe against Iqbal Shahid after the Afghanis were arrested. He said that Iqbal had presented himself before the investigation team without any conditionality and was declared innocent. He said that the passport process at the Garden Town office was found to be transparent and Iqbal had neither concern nor any role in the scam, adding that the Afghans were arrested before they reached the interview counter and recommendations for their passports were not forwarded by the office to the ministry of interior.
