Civil Judge Rana Shahzad Ashraf on Monday extended remand of 23 Chinese nationals and seven Pakistani agents for 14 days in fake marriages scandal.
The gang was busted by the FIA Faisalabad and the accused were presented before the court. After expiry of the remand period, the FIA produced them before the civil court and the judge granted further 14 days remand.
FIA after taking strict actions against a Chinese prostitution ring arrested 12 more persons of the gang. A huge number of passports were recovered from the suspects.
FIA have tightened the noose around a gang involved in fake marriages between vulnerable Pakistani women and Chinese men. The women were allegedly trafficked into prostitution in China.
According to Dunya News, Amna Nazir of Lahore’s Ferozepur road area was married off to a Chinese national after her father was approached by an agent claiming to run a marriage bureau.
In a press release FIA said, the agent told the father that he was in contact with some foreign individuals who had recently converted to Islam and were looking for Pakistani girls to marry.
The agent said that the Chinese man would reside permanently in Pakistan, but spend a few months a year abroad with his wife, who would be helped find employment as domestic help to earn some money.
The man then married off his daughter to a Chinese man, Chan Yen Ming, who had introduced himself to the Pakistani family as Musa. He told his father-in-law that he was a converted Muslim.
Three to four days after marrying the woman, Ming took her to China, the FIA statement said. Sometime later, the woman called her family to tell them that they had been conned.
She said that Musa had only posed as a Muslim and had not actually converted to Islam. She also told her family that Ming was trying to force her into prostitution and had physically abused her upon her refusal.
She also said that some people in China were running a business of luring Pakistani women into China to force them into prostitution, and that the suspects were also running an organ trade racket, the FIA press release stated.
Hearing this, the woman s father contacted the agent who had set up the marriage and was told to contact their boss Wei Lin Ping, alias David, in Islamabad.
Upon approaching the boss, Ping said that he had paid Rs2 million to the agent for the woman, and unless the father could return the money she would either have to engage in prostitution or sell her organs.
When the FIA was informed about the incident, a request was sent to the Pakistan High Commission in China, and the woman was repatriated to Pakistan.
Back home, the woman informed the FIA of the ringleader Ping s residence in Lahore. Using her tip off, the FIA conducted a raid and arrested at least eight Chinese individuals and two Pakistanis, and recovered the eight Chinese and three Pakistani passports, the press release said.
The FIA later arrested three more Chinese nationals who, according to the agency, were connecting potential grooms with local agents, who were responsible for engaging possible victims. The three were arrested in different raids from the surrounding areas of Lahore.
Separately, Mandi Bahauddin police on Wednesday took four individuals, including a Chinese national, into custody in a similar case. The police arrested the Chinese national, a local woman who was married off to the suspect, and two Pakistani suspects before handing them over to the FIA.
A Lahore court on Thursday remanded 11 Chinese nationals and two locals into the Federal Investigation Agency s custody for a probe into a transnational gang allegedly involved in prostitution and the illegal organ trade.
Judicial Magistrate Amir Raza directed FIA officials to complete their investigation within two days and produce the suspects in court on May 11.
According to Dunya News, the suspects include two Pakistanis Shoukat Ali and Muhammad Ansar.
At least five such cases have been reported in the district during the last few months. The agency has been conducting raids to recover the remaining four women who were allegedly married off to Chinese men.
On the other hand Chinese nationals arrested from Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been sent on judicial remand. After a testimony by Christian girl her Chinese husband has been released.
Dunya News Sources said 13 arrested Chinese citizens and Christian girl appeared before senior civil judge Amir Aziz. The girl told court she had married to Chinese citizen on her own will and he Christian too. The court cleared all cases against couple and released them.
The Foreign Office said on Saturday authorities concerned of Pakistan and China were in close contact over the issue, involving the Chinese nationals.
“The government of China had offered all possible cooperation on the issue, which was highly appreciated,” a Foreign Office statement said, referring to the reports of fake marriage scam, involving some Chinese nationals.
“Both sides are closely coordinating their efforts. In this context, a Chinese team visited Pakistan recently and held meetings with our law-enforcement officials,” it said. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan Missions in China are closely monitoring the situation and extending all possible assistance to Pakistani citizens who may have any complaints on the subject,” it added.
“We have noted the statement by the Chinese Embassy referring to investigation by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on the issue. According to this investigation, there is no forced prostitution or sale of human organs of Pakistani women who stay in China after marriage with Chinese nationals.”
Urging caution on the matter to avoid sensationalisation, the statement said that the foreign ministry and all the relevant departments of the government and the Chinese authorities concerned would continue to coordinate on the matter to address the grievances of the affected individuals, bring the culprits to justice, and ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.
The statement stressed that Pakistan and China were ‘all-weather strategic cooperative partners’. “Friendship between the two countries enjoys strong public and institutional support in both countries. Both sides remain committed to strengthening this abiding friendship and strategic partnership in all dimensions,” it added.
The statement came as the Express News reported that at least 20 Pakistani girls, trapped in China after allegedly falling victim to fake marriages with Chinese men, were sent back to the country. The girls were sent back to Pakistan after receiving complaints, the report said, quoting sources in the Pakistan embassy in Beijing.
Recently, several reports emerged, pointing to Chinese men involved in fake marriages with Pakistani girls for trafficking them to China. Following the scandal, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a crackdown against fake marriages and human trafficking operations by Chinese gangs. The FIA Lahore Zone-I busted a Chinese gang from Johar Town and arrested 11 Chinese nationals and their two Pakistani facilitators.
A Lahore court on Saturday extended the remand of the 11 Chinese nationals into the FIA custody for two days. The suspects were produced before Judge Mohammad Waqas after the expiry of their initial two-day remand. The judge sent two locals nominated in the case to jail on a two-day judicial remand.
During today’s hearing, the Chinese nationals pleaded not guilty and said that they did nothing wrong. They said that they had come to Pakistan for business purposes. They said that the FIA taken them into illegal custody. On Friday, China said its ministry of public security had sent a task force to Pakistan to cooperate in the crackdown.
