At a press conference on Aug. 20, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang was asked about Pakistani authorities' recent detention of more than 230 people allegedly involved in a scam call center in Islamabad, including 170 Vietnamese nationals.

"According to information from the Vietnamese Embassy in Pakistan, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency and National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency recently detained several Vietnamese citizens on suspicion of violating residency and labor regulations," the spokesperson said.

Commuters ride past a building (R) cordoned off by security personnel after authorities detained foreign nationals during a raid for running an alleged scam call center on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Aug.17, 2026. Photo by AFP

The Vietnamese Embassy in Pakistan is working with local authorities to verify the information, establish the identities of those detained and take necessary measures to provide consular protection.

The Foreign Ministry has also instructed the embassy to continue coordinating with local authorities, closely monitor the case and request that the security and safety of Vietnamese citizens be ensured. The embassy is also working with relevant agencies in Vietnam to verify the identities of those detained and provide further consular assistance.

According to AFP, Pakistani authorities raided a suspected scam call center in Islamabad earlier this week, detained 258 foreigners, including 40 Chinese nationals, following a raid on an alleged "scam call center" in the capital Islamabad.

Those detained -- including 170 people from Vietnam, as well as nationals from Malaysia and "other Asian countries" -- were being held at a Rawalpindi jail.

"They were running a scam call center in Gulberg Green, a housing society on the outskirts of Islamabad," an official from the Federal Investigation Agency, a Pakistani intelligence service, told AFP.

"They came to Pakistan on tourist visas and were not allowed to do what they were doing."

A similar raid took place in July 2025, with 149 people -- including 71 foreigners who were mostly Chinese -- arrested on allegations of working for a "large call center involving Ponzi schemes and investment fraud," according to AFP.