Daily Time
The Federal Investigation Agency has recovered Rs 615.55 million from illegal visa agents in Islamabad and Rawalpindi over the past four months, arresting 190 suspects and registering 1,543 cases. The figures, released by the FIA, reflect the government’s stepped-up efforts against a business that thrives on the desperation of Pakistanis seeking opportunities abroad. Nearly 13 cases registered every day in two cities alone should give the authorities plenty to think about. One wonders how many victims never approach the police.
The recent death of Laiba Ijaz, a physics gold medallist from the International Islamic University Islamabad, brings home the human cost of this racket. Hoping to pursue higher studies at Harvard, she allegedly fell prey to fraudsters promising admission, a scholarship and an American visa. Her father reportedly sold a plot of land while her mother pledged jewellery to finance her education. According to the FIA’s investigation, the family was cheated out of Rs 9.3 million through forged documents. Laiba was found dead in Islamabad on October 9.
Like countless Pakistani parents, Laiba’s father was prepared to sacrifice whatever little he possessed to give his child opportunities he never enjoyed. That such aspirations can become easy pickings for unscrupulous middlemen says much about the market surrounding overseas education.
Pakistan’s youth unemployment rate stands at 12.8 per cent, while 762,499 workers registered for overseas employment last year. The country celebrates their remittances and routinely seeks more opportunities for its workforce abroad. Yet the machinery meant to protect those seeking these opportunities remains inadequate. For many families, a foreign degree or job offer represents years of savings and, increasingly, their best hope of economic security.
There is also a regulatory problem. Licensed overseas employment promoters can be verified through official records, whereas the credentials of private educational consultants are often harder to establish. Foreign universities decide admissions and scholarships, while embassies determine visa eligibility. No middleman can guarantee either. Pakistani universities should provide credible guidance to prospective students, including ways to verify admission offers directly with foreign institutions.
The FIA’s crackdown deserves appreciation. However, the real test lies in convictions, recovery of victims’ money and preventing offenders from reopening under different names. The agency should publish these outcomes. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s intervention in Laiba’s case is welcome, and the investigation must follow the evidence wherever it leads.
There is a cruel irony in a country relying so heavily on the earnings of its citizens abroad while leaving those hoping to join them exposed to such risks. Laiba’s family sold its land to invest in her future. How many others are losing their savings to promises that were never worth the paper they were printed on? *