Traveller detained after authorities detect forged marriage certificate used to obtain family visa.
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has offloaded an Afghan-origin Australian passport holder at Islamabad International Airport after discovering he had obtained a Pakistani family visa using a forged marriage certificate.
The passenger was intercepted during secondary profiling while preparing to board Emirates flight EK-613 bound for Australia. Immigration officials examined his travel documents and determined that he had secured the visa through misrepresentation.
According to an FIA official, the man claimed to be married to a Pakistani national named Maryam Anwar and had submitted a marriage registration certificate in support of his application. During questioning, however, he was unable to provide any evidence of the marriage. Authorities later confirmed that the certificate was fabricated solely to obtain the family visa.
Visa Fraud and Agent’s Role:
Preliminary investigation revealed that the passenger had entered Pakistan on 29 May 2026 using the fraudulently obtained family visa. He reportedly told officials that he had paid 300 Australian dollars to an agent based in Australia to arrange the visa through fake documentation.
Following his removal from the flight, the man was handed over to the FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Islamabad for formal legal proceedings. Further investigation into the case and the network involved in arranging the forged documents is ongoing.
The incident forms part of the FIA’s continued efforts to detect document fraud and irregular immigration at major airports. Pakistani authorities have repeatedly stressed a zero-tolerance approach toward the use of fake marriage certificates and other forged papers to circumvent visa rules.
Cases involving marriage-based visa fraud remain a recurring concern for immigration agencies in the region, as they can facilitate both unauthorised stays and potential human trafficking or smuggling networks. Officials have not publicly released the passenger’s name pending the outcome of the investigation.