British Couple Face Trafficking Charges of Children in Pakistan

A Pakistani-British couple were arrested in Gilgit Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle an infant out of the country, may be charged with human trafficking. They had arrived to adopt an orphan and were staying at a hotel. Their arrest lead intelligence agencies to a chain believed to have links with an offshore child-smuggling ring. "There are chances that other children may also have been smuggled out of this region in the past," disclosed an official. During preliminary investigations, the couple informed investigators that they were interested in adopting a child and that they had contacted a local woman running a private maternity home for assistance, who sold them a two-month old baby. She has allegedly facilitated adoptions of children before.