British Couple Caught Smuggling "Adopted" Child Out of Pakistan UPDATED

“A Pakistani-British couple arrested in Gilgit Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle an infant out of the country, may be charged with human trafficking, according to official sources on Saturday.

The couple, Hafeez Rajab Ali and Arsh Noor, who are British citizens were arrested at the Gilgit airport when they were about to board an airplane for Islamabad. They had arrived in Gilgit a week ago to adopt an orphan and were staying at a hotel. Their arrest lead intelligence agencies to a chain believed to have links with an offshore child-smuggling ring.

“There are chances that other children may also have been smuggled out of this region in the past,” disclosed an official, adding that a detailed investigation is under way. The police said they did not know yet whether the child’s parents were aware of the adoption, though locals suspected of involvement have been arrested for interrogation.

On Saturday, the police produced the couple before a local court for physical remand for further investigation, while their lawyer submitted an application for bail to the judge. However, the court sought time to study the case before taking a decision. Noor has subsequently been shifted to a women’s police station.

During preliminary investigations, the couple informed investigators that they were interested in adopting a child and that they had contacted a local woman running a private maternity home for assistance, who sold them a two-month old baby. She has allegedly facilitated adoptions of children before.

Adoption of children by foreigners came into the limelight a few years ago, after Gilgit-Baltistan’s Supreme Appellate Court, taking suo motu notice, asked a Gilgit-based NGO to explain how children had been entrusted to the care of foreigners.”

Child smuggling: British couple face trafficking charges
[The Express Tribune 2/26/12 by Shabbir Mir]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

The extension was given after police produced the couple before the court on Wednesday, the day the previous remand expired and pleaded that they had not been able to complete the interrogation.

Since the co-accused, a local nurse Asifa, had fallen ill, the police have not been able to conclude the case, sources told The Express Tribune. The police have been asked to produce the couple in court on the next hearing.

Hafeez Rajab Ali and Arsh Noor were arrested at Gilgit airport as they were about to board an aircraft for Islamabad. They had come to Gilgit from the UK to adopt an orphan.

The couple denied charges of child trafficking and told investigators that they had fulfilled all the formalities except obtaining an NOC or No objection Certificate from the home department of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

Lack of awareness of local laws led to their arrest since they could not produce the certificate when the police asked them to produce evidence of adoption, according to the police.

The investigators questioning the couple appeared convinced that the couple was not part of some gang involved in child trafficking.

They are a couple who wanted to adopt an orphan, said an investigator, requesting anonymity, because he was not authorised to discuss the case with the media.

We feel they should remain in Gilgit till the co-accused gets well enough to respond to interrogators’ queries, he said.

The Supreme Apellate Court of G-B had taken suo motu notice of smuggling children out of the country in a previous incident of adoption in which a local NGO was involved.”