Pakistani citizens are being lured to Cambodia with attractive job offers, only to fall victim to a major fraud. Several hundred Pakistanis have been held hostage for months and subjected to violent treatment.
According to a report by Geo News, citing FIA Karachi Director Nauman Siddiqui, social media is being used to advertise lucrative jobs in Cambodia’s IT sector, call centers, engineering, and other professional fields.
Nauman Siddiqui stated that Indian agents, particularly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries, are deceiving young Pakistanis, offering them promising jobs in Cambodia for $1,000 to $2,000.
As reported, FIA sources revealed that youth from Lahore and Karachi are also being misled and sent through this route. Over the past few weeks, more than 20 people, including a woman, have been deported from Cambodia with emergency documents.
SHO Sohail Mehmood Sheikh of the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi stated that after interrogating these individuals, 14 inquiries and two cases have been registered so far. He further disclosed that once these young men reach Cambodia, their passports are confiscated, and they are forced into labor in remote areas.
They are also coerced into illegal activities, particularly working at fraudulent call centers. Many Pakistanis have managed to escape from these labor camps and contacted the embassy to facilitate their deportation.
Following complaints by the Pakistani mission, local authorities conducted an operation two weeks ago, rescuing over 100 Pakistanis from these centers. However, a large number of Pakistanis are still reportedly held hostage and forced into labor in remote areas. Sources indicate that most of these victims belong to Punjab.
FIA officials have stated that some foreign nationals residing in Karachi and Lahore are also involved in this scam, and investigations are underway.
