Seven Iranian nations were arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Turbat airport while arriving from Bahrain for possessing ‘fraudulent’ Pakistani passports and CNICs, a local news outlet reported on Tuesday.
Reportedly, the arrested foreign nationals have been shifted to Quetta for further interrogation, while cases have been registered against them. Moreover, the suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate Abdul Rehman Langove in Quetta who sent them on physical remand. An FIA official revealed that the Iranian nationals have allegedly been travelling to and from Bahrain on ‘fraudulent’ Pakistani passports since 2014.
In July, Bahrain police had arrested some ‘Pakistanis’ over charges of committing a crime and had sent them to a prison in Manama. When Pakistan embassy’s consular visited the jail on September 13, it unearthed that the arrested suspects were actually Iranian nationals possessing Pakistani passports, the FIA official said. Subsequently, an alert was issued to all airports in the country and the details of the suspects were shared with all relevant authorities.
When on December 13, the seven accused landed at Turbat airport, they were immediately arrested by the FIA. The accused belong to Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province. They were issued Pakistani passports and CNICs in Gwadar and Turbat, the official said. “Arrests in Immigration and Passport Department, and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) are expected in the aftermath of the arrest of these Iranian nationals,” he added.
