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KARACHI: A local court in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Thursday granted a two-day physical remand of rights activist Sarim Burney to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a day after he was arrested on charges of human trafficking and illegally sending children to the United States. 

Burney, a prominent rights activist in Pakistan, was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Khaleeque Zaman in Karachi a day after he was arrested on his return to Pakistan from the US. According to the FIA, Burney had been arrested over human trafficking charges levelled against him by US authorities. 

The Anti-Human Trafficking cell of the FIA had registered a case against Burney under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code with Sections 3 (trafficking in persons), 4 (aggravating circumstances) and Section 5 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018.

The social worker was arrested on charges of human trafficking which includes smuggling and illegally sending children to the US after American authorities filed a complaint against him, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

“Sarim Burney and his associates Basalat Ali Khan, Humaira Naz and others, in collusion with each other knowingly and willfully gave false information, made misdeclaration as well as concealment of the facts before the Hon’ble Family Courts District East Karachi in the garb of illegal adoption and guardianship of three baby girls by using and providing fraudulent documents,” a copy of the complaint seen by Arab News said. 

The complaint said the Sarim Burney Trust claimed the baby girls were orphans and had been found outside the gate of the trust. The trust had also claimed it tried its level best to find their parents but no person came forward to claim them.

The complaint said the suspects’ statements about the three girls were “contrary to the facts” and that the girls had been trafficked abroad “by way of adoption/guardianship.”

Investigation Officer Chaudhry Bilal requested the judge to remand Burney for 14 days in police custody. The magistrate, after hearing the arguments, handed over the accused to the FIA on a two-day remand.

“Meanwhile, the court rejected Burney’s request to discharge him from the case,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

According to local media reports, Burney alleged that a campaign was being run against him, vowing not to let his arrest get in the way of his philanthropic activities. 

Arab News contacted the US Consulate in Karachi for to get their version, who refused to respond to specific queries. 

“We are aware of reports regarding the arrest of Sarim Burney. This is an internal Pakistani judicial matter for Pakistan’s authorities to investigate,” Anastasia Kolivas, public diplomacy officer at the consulate, told Arab News.

 “We have been clear and consistent in calling for respect for the rule of law, and we will continue to do so.”