A Day In Bengkulu, Pakistani Citizen Ahmed Ilyas Makes An Act Of Asking For Illegal Donations For Victims Of The Kashmir Conflict

Head of the Bengkulu Class I Immigration Office, Samsu Rizal (center), accompanied by two other immigration officials (ANTARA)

BENGKULU - The Bengkulu Class I Immigration Office deported a Pakistani citizen named Ahmed Ilyas. Ilyas made an act of violating immigration by collecting illegal donations from the public.

Head of the Bengkulu Class I Immigration Office, Samsu Rizal, as quoted by Antara, stated that from the results of the examination, Ilyas admitted that he had collected donations for humanitarian aid for victims of the Kashmir conflict in his country.

"The person in question collected the funds without a certificate from the relevant agency. Their activities are disturbing and disturbing public order, for that we will immediately deport them to their country of origin," Rizal said at a press conference in Bengkulu, Thursday, September 2.

The arrest of a foreigner from Pakistan started from reports of people who were restless because they were asked for donations by foreigners in the name of humanity. The complaint report is submitted through the official Instagram account of the Bengkulu Immigration Office.

The act of collecting funds by foreigners from Pakistan is not in accordance with the Limited Stay Permit Card, which is for business and work matters issued on April 16, 2021 and valid until April 23, 2023.

In addition to deportation, the immigration authorities will also impose other administrative sanctions, namely the cancellation of the residence permit and the inclusion of the person's name on the list of deterrence.

Samsu explained that the foreigner from Pakistan had withdrawn donations from traders selling at the Panorama Traditional Market, Bengkulu, and several other institutions using a proposal issued by the Alkhidmad Foundation, a humanitarian foundation in Pakistan.

The officers, said Rizal, have not been able to calculate how many donations have been collected, because the donations were taken away by another Pakistani foreigner named Arsalan who managed to escape when officers were about to arrest him.

"The latest information that we received Arsalan is currently in Jakarta. The Alkhidmad Foundation issue is indeed there, but we have difficulty confirming it," explained Rizal.

Officers arrested Ilyas last Friday, August 20 at a coffee shop not far from a gas station in Tebeng Village, Bengkulu. He admitted that he had only been in Bengkulu one day and immediately started collecting donations. Arsalan invited Ilyas to Bengkulu on August 19 using a four-wheeled vehicle from Bandung, West Java.

"He can't speak Indonesian because he admits that he hasn't been in Indonesia for a long time. So he collected the funds with the help of a driver who accompanies him as an interpreter because the driver can speak Pakistani. We have checked the driver," he said.

Based on the results of the examination, the Pakistani foreigner admitted that he had also collected donations in several other areas in Indonesia, namely Central Java, East Java, Cirebon, Jambi and Lampung.

Nevertheless, Rizal emphasized that the group that often collects donations is not related to any group, although in Bengkulu and in several other areas in Indonesia there are many foreigners from Pakistan.

"Based on our investigation, brother Ahmed Ilyas is not affiliated with the Tablighi Jamaat group. He purely came to Indonesia for business and not religious symbols, despite the fact that he collects donations," said Rizal.