Five Pakistanis are currently being investigated for traveling to Israel using Pakistani passports. However, five members of their family are still in Israel. In light of these developments, an investigation was initiated to uncover the details of their activities.
The investigation revealed that these individuals hid their religious identity during their stay in Israel due to personal safety concerns.
The investigation began when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) noticed foreign remittances from an unusual destination, Israel. The remittances were sent in small amounts through Western Union and received at a branch in Mirpurkhas, Sindh.
Over a span of six years, the arrested individuals, who worked as car washers or helpers in Israel, sent a total of around Rs. 2 million back to Pakistan.
As the investigation progressed, it was discovered that eight members of the family had traveled to Israel at different times. Some of them returned in 2021 and others in 2022. Notably, three of these people are elderly and in poor health, and their names have not been mentioned in the FIR yet.
One of the arrested individuals revealed that he has an aunt named Rifqa, who migrated from Pakistan to Israel around four decades ago. Rifqa’s father married a Jewish woman from Iran after she converted to Islam. Rifqa has two brothers and one sister.
All the individuals involved are Pakistani citizens who have traveled to Israel and are over 65 years old. Sitara’s husband, Abdul Majeed Siddiqui, and their two sons, Noman Siddiqui and Kamran Siddiqui, have also visited Israel.
The remittances sent from Israel were from Noman and Kamran. Kamil, the son of Muhammad Anwar who is among the accused, also traveled to Israel.
According to reports, the family’s travel arrangements were made by Ishaq Matat, believed to be Rifqa’s husband. Anwar stated that he paid Rs. 300,000 to Ishaq for logistical support, travel assistance, and finding work in Tel Aviv.
There is no evidence linking Ishaq Matat to the arrested individuals, but Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, identified an individual called ‘Issac Matat,’ a CEO of a carpet firm founded by Jews who migrated from Pakistan.
While in Israel, the arrested individuals kept their religious identities hidden. One of them is a Hafiz-e-Quran, and another one runs a general store, while another owns a beauty parlor. People in their community were told that they were in Switzerland instead of Israel.
Although the amount remitted was not large, it raised questions about the recipients and the nature of their activities in Israel. FIA has filed an FIR due to their illegal stay in Israel, as Pakistani passports are not valid for travel to Israel.
It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan has a small number of Jews, mainly in Sindh. Some are believed to reside in Mirpurkhas and Umarkot. In the 2013 general election, approximately 809 adult Jews were registered as voters, which increased to 900 in 2017.
Many hide their religious identity for security reasons. The Jewish community in Pakistan gained attention in 2019 when Fishel Khalid, the only openly declared Pakistani Jew, was allowed by the government to travel to Israel.
Source: Pro Pakistani