ISLAMABAD : The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Monday submitted its reply before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a petition against an alleged racket of women traffickers involved in forcing the girls into flesh trade.
Qaiser Masud, deputy director (law) of FIA, submitted the reply in the court of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui who adjourned the matter till April 29.
The deputy director told the court in written reply that main accused in this case Ashfaq had got interim bail from a Faisalabad court but later his bail was cancelled on February 24, 2014. "FIA has conducted 8 raids on the residence of the accused but they went underground, and proceedings under section 87/88 CrPC have been initiated," he said. He stated that director immigration FIA had been asked for placing the names of accused on exit control list (ECL) through interior ministry. "Accused Ashfaq is in Pakistan while the other accused Ayesha Ashfaq is abroad.
Her arrest is being processed through National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol Islamabad," added Qaiser.
The FIA told the court that the case was already pending before the court of special judge central, Faisalabad, where FIA had submitted an incomplete challan. The FIA told the court that it would do every possible effort to arrest the accused involved in this case.
Justice Siddiqui on April 04 had directed the FIA to submit its written reply about the facts why it failed to procure arrest of the accused who were allegedly involved in women trafficking. The single member bench issued these directions while hearing the case of an alleged victim of women trafficking Zunaira who contended before the IHC that despite registration of FIR, the FIA had not procured any arrest.
The FIA had registered an FIR against the accused persons Ashfaq, Ayesha and others on January 01, 2014 at the complaint of Zunaira who along with her sister Shaista remained in Dubai as commercial sex workers allegedly due to the blackmailing and pressure of the accused persons.
The petitioner Zunaira in November last year had filed a petition before the IHC through Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhutta Advocate narrating her tale of becoming a commercial sex worker in Dubai. The counsel informed that Zunaira and her sister Shaista started working as housemaids in the house of one Ayesha, wife of Ashfaq, four years before. He added that after sometime owners of the house started convincing both the sisters to go to Dubai with them where they had been running a beauty parlour.
The petitioner told the court that the accused persons asked them to work at their beauty parlour and they arranged their travelling documents and took them along to Dubai. "At the time of their departure both the girls were 15-year-old and 16-year-old but the accused persons managed to prepare documents where the girls were shown elder than their real age," said Bhutta.
He added that in Dubai the accused persons had been running brothels and used to supply girls to different hotels. These two girls were also forced into sex trade, and upon their protest, accused persons threatened them that they would involve their parents in serious crimes with the help of Pakistani police. From time to time the petitioner and her sister protested against the accused persons but they were always beaten up brutally.
She said that the accused had been carrying on with human trafficking and devastating numerous families, and immediate action was required by the FIA in collaboration with Interpol.
Zunaira and her sister Shaista now have been living outside Faisalabad as, according to them, the accused have been threatening them of dire consequences.