'HOPE' chairperson arrested in Karachi for 'trafficking children' to US

Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) in Karachi has arrested the chairperson of a non-governmental organisation on charges of child trafficking and illegal overseas adoption after a complaint received from US authorities.

Dr Mubina Cassum Agboatwala, chairperson of Health-Oriented Preventive Education (HOPE), was arrested after a court dismissed her pre-arrest bail plea.

The investigating officer (IO) of the case produced the suspect before the judicial magistrate (South) on Tuesday and requested her physical remand for further investigation. However, the magistrate turned down the request and sent her to prison on judicial remand.

The FIA claimed that it had received a complaint from the US Consulate General in Karachi regarding the suspect’s involvement in the “illegal business of trafficking minors" for monetary gains.

An FIR has been lodged against her under Sections 3 (trafficking in persons), 4 (aggravating circumstances) and 6 (victims of trafficking in person) of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018 (amended in 2025).

Also Read: Sarim Burney smuggled a newborn girl to USA for $3,000: FIA

The FIR claimed that the NGO handed over custody of “abandoned babies” to different families of a single community living abroad with foreign nationality on court orders, which were obtained on identical applications.

"From the enquiry conducted so far / available documentary evidence on record, it is established that, though HOPE handed over the abandoned babies to the different families by the Court Orders but surprisingly all the court orders based on same story, nothing different in any single application which is very exceptional," said the FIR, adding that the NGO was involved in illegal work for huge payments from the families.

"Thus, from the enquiry / available documentary evidence on record, it is established that Dr Mubina and other membes including employees of HOPE are involved in illegal business of trafficking of minors (trafficking in person) for their monetary benefits," the FIR claimed.