By Muhammad Luqman
At least eight Chinese have been arrested in Lahore and other parts of Pakistan on charges of trafficking Pakistani girls after illegal marriages.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided the hideouts of the gang , following the complaints of Chinese involved in illegal marriages after trapping the poor Pakistani girls mainly from the Christian community.
The FIA has also claimed to have arrested the Pakistani agents who were involved in facilitating the Chinese in trapping the poor Pakistani girls.
“The gang was arrested after FIA conducted a rigorous operation on the orders of Director General Bashir Memon” said spokesman FIA Jameel Mayo.
Deputy Director FIA Jamil Ahmad Khan Mayo told media on Monday that the FIA arrested eight Chinese nationals from Lahore airport and other areas on the charges of trafficking young women to China after marrying them. The arrests, he said, is part of a crackdown against foreigners involved in illegal activities in the country.
Both Pakistan and Chinese governments have warned people against a mafia involved in ‘fake’ marriages of Chinese men with Pakistani girls.
The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad has issued a statement urging caution against unlawful matchmaking centres involved in these marriages to earn profit.
The illegal matchmaking centres lure poor Pakistani girls, especially Christian girls to marry Chinese men who are either visiting or working in Pakistan.
They produce fake documents of Chinese men showing them either as Christians or Muslims. They then find poor girls mainly from the Christian community to marry them by offering money and promises of ‘good life’. However, many girls reportedly became victims of human trafficking and forced into prostitution.
Thousands of Chinese are now living in Pakistan since the launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPEC) project in 2015. Many of them have even bought houses and cars in the country.
Some Chinese men have ulterior motives behind marrying Pakistani girls as they take them to China after marriage and force them into prostitution and even sell their organs.
The local facilitators told the TV channel they would lure families into an agreement by saying their would-be Chinese son-in-law was seeking Pakistani citizenship so he could invest in the country as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
Roadside banners and posters can also been seen in Youhanabad—the largest Christian locality – in Lahore, inviting families to marry their girls with Chinese.
The banners read: “Long live Pak-China friendship! Attention honorable Christians. Proposals of deserving, poor and good families are urgently required for China. Chinese family will bear all expenses. Education is not a problem.”
Meo further added that the investigative agency raided the housing society, Divine Garden near Lahore airport, under the supervision of Director Zone II Rustam Chauhan.
The FIA official revealed that the Chinese nationals prepare fake documents for extending their visas and getting NOCs with the aid of officials from Interior Ministry and Passport and Immigration Office.
