5 Pakistanis arrested for ‘illegal emigration’ to Israel

Authorities in Pakistan announced Wednesday that they have arrested five Pakistanis on allegations of "illegal emigration" to Israel, which Islamabad does not recognize as a state.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said that all of the accused were arrested in Mirpurkhas district of southern Sindh province upon their return from Tel Aviv, where they had been working as "helpers and car washers."

However, no further details about the timing of their return from Israel were provided.

The suspects had entered Israel via Jordan, which they reached via Kenya in 2016.

Abdul Hameed Bhutto, a senior FIA official, told reporters that at least eight suspects from Pakistan who were working in Israel have been identified -- five of whom are in custody and three who are still at large.

Bhutto said that each of the suspects paid an agent, said to be an Israeli citizen, 2 million Pakistani rupees ($7,220) to enter Israel and obtain employment there.

The suspects have violated multiple laws by travelling to a country that was not recognized by Pakistan, he added.

The accused sent their salaries in the form of foreign remittances through the Western Union of Pakistan post office in Mirpurkhas, which were accordingly received by their relatives, according to the case record.

Hundreds of unemployed Pakistani youths risk their lives to reach Europe by sea and road for a better future after paying huge amounts of money to human smugglers, but this is the first time that Pakistanis have been caught travelling to Israel for employment purposes.

In April, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rebutted reports on a trade initiative between his country and Israel, saying "all such reports are nothing but a pack of lies."

The clarification came days after a statement by the American Jewish Congress which claimed that a first shipment of Pakistan-origin food products was offloaded in Israel late last month.

The transaction, according to the statement, involved Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel BenKhald and three businessmen from Jerusalem and Haifa.

BenKhald, 33, who hails from Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi, posted photos of himself on his social media account waving his green Pakistani passport after landing at Tel Aviv Airport last week.

BenKhald, whose father is Muslim and mother is Jewish, is the first Pakistani citizen of Jewish faith to officially travel to Israel on religious grounds.

He was registered as a Muslim at birth, but registered as a Jew with Pakistan's National Database Registration Authority in 2016.