PESHAWAR, Feb 25: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a travel agency owner on the charges of using a stolen Pakistani passport to send an Afghan refugee to Saudi Arabia, sources told Dawn on Friday.

The Afghan national who had travelled on Pakistani passport was also arrested by the agency.

Afghan national Ashiqullah had arrived in Peshawar from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on Passport No K627691, which had been stolen a few years back from the passport office in Gujranwala, the sources said.

The immigration staff of the FIA arrested Ashiqullah when they checked his passport through personal identification secured comparison and evaluation system (Pisces) installed at the Peshawar international airport.

The accused was handed over to the FIA passport circle, which after interrogation from him, arrested co accused Yaqoob Khan Bangash, owner of Spogmay Travels Agency, situated in Ramdas locality.

Investigating officer (IO) Inspector Shahid Ilyas said Yaqoob Bangash was one of big human smugglers in the city and he and his six brothers had been running the racket for last 20 years.

He said the seven brothers had a number of travel and recruitment agencies, including Al-Wasib Recruitment Agency, Al-Jazeera Recruitment Agency, Bangash Air Services, Israfeel Recruitment Agency and Mekail Recruitment Agency.

The IO said that two brothers of accused Yaqoob Bhangash were already on the list of those wanted by the FIA in cases of sending Afghan nationals abroad on green passports.

Accused Ashiqullah and Yaqoob Bangash were produced before area judicial magistrate, Waqar Ahmad Khan, who remanded them to central Jail Peshawar on Thursday, the IO told Dawn. However, he failed to explain as to why his other brothers were not arrested from outside the court where they were present during the court proceedings on Thursday. Accused Ashiqullah, in his inculpatory confession under section 164/364 CrPC, told the magistrate that he had paid Rs60,000 to accused Yaqoob Bangash.

He further confessed that before his departure from Islamabad international airport to Saudi Arabia on Jan 25, 2002 he had to wait for six months as co accused Yaqoob Bangash had told him that he could not travel abroad until a suitable immigration official was posted at any of the international airports in the country.