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KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have arrested two men accused of human smuggling after they defrauded citizens with false promises of jobs in �������� and the United Kingdom, officials said on Saturday, as the country intensifies its crackdown on trafficking networks following a series of deadly migrant boat disasters.

The arrests, made by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Multan, come amid Pakistan’s broader campaign to curb human smuggling. The issue has drawn significant attention following recent tragedies in the Mediterranean, including shipwrecks off Greece, Libya and Morocco involving scores of Pakistani nationals.

“The accused, Muhammad Muzammil and Sher Khan, extorted large sums of money from citizens by falsely promising overseas employment opportunities,” the FIA said in a statement. “Muzammil took Rs852,000 [$2,982] from a victim under the pretense of securing a job in ��������, while Sher Khan collected Rs2 million [$7,000] by offering fake employment in the UK,” it continued. “Both failed to deliver and went into hiding after collecting the money.”

The statement noted that the suspects were also involved in visa fraud.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to crack down on the criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people with false hopes of better lives abroad. His administration began focusing on the issue after more than 200 Pakistanis were presumed dead in a shipwreck off Greece among hundreds of other illegal migrants trying to reach European shores.

Earlier this year, over 40 Pakistanis were feared drowned near Morocco’s coast, while the International Organization for Migration said at least 60 migrants, including Pakistanis, were feared dead after a pair of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in June.

The FIA said on Saturday that both suspects were arrested from separate locations in Multan and have been taken into custody for further investigation. It added that its crackdown on human smugglers remains ongoing.

PESHAWAR: A suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed 13 soldiers and wounded 29 people, including civilians, local government officials and police officers told AFP.

“A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. The blast killed 13 soldiers, injured 10 army personnel and 19 civilians,” said a local government official in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

“The explosion also caused the roofs of two houses to collapse, injuring six children,” a police officer posted in the district told AFP.

The condition of four injured soldiers is critical, an administrative official added.

The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Pakistan Taliban.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban deny.

Around 290 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.