A local court in Karachi Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Sarim Burney in the human trafficking case.
Burney was taken into custody on June 5 after he landed at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi following his US visit.
Judicial Magistrate (East) Khaliq ul Zaman rejected the bail plea after the completion of arguments from Burney’s lawyer and those of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) counsel.
During the hearing of the case, the FIA prosecutor told the court that more evidence is to be collected against the suspect.
He added that further revelations have been made during the investigation.
Meanwhile, Burney’s lawyer argued that the FIA did not conduct a proper inquiry into the matter.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered first information report (FIR) against rights activist Sarim Burney for allegedly trafficking newborn babies to United States (US).
In the FIR, the investigation agency booked the rights activist for ‘trafficking’ a newborn baby – identified as Haya – to the US. Haya, who according to FIA was the last girl trafficked to US, was allegedly bought from her parents for Rs1 million.
Sarim Burney trafficked 20 newborns to the US in the past year on pretext of adoption. The FIA claimed that 15 of the trafficked children were girls.
The FIA, in a statement, said that the records of the allegedly trafficked children were provided by the Pakistan embassy. Citing the Trust documents, the agency said Burney’s wife was also among the beneficiaries.
According to the FIA, Haya’s parents are extremely poor, and their statements have been recorded. Further cases related to human trafficking and money laundering will be registered against Burney, the agency said.
