Now, the father fears his son was among those lost in a disastrous boat capsize off Greece on Wednesday in which hundreds of people are thought to have died, among them Pakistanis.
Mehmood, 60, said a local travel agent had charged 2.2 million Pakistani rupees ($7,653) for his son's trip, with the promise he would earn well in Europe.
He said he last heard from his son when Sultan got on a boat, which he believes was the doomed vessel.
"He sent a (text) message saying that he was sitting in a boat with around 400- 500 people.
Most of the people on board the capsized boat were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, Greek government officials have said.
Persons:
Shahid Mehmood, Sultan, Mehmood, Adnan Iftikhar, Shahbaz Sharif, Ariba Shahid, Frances Kerry
Organizations:
country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomson
Locations:
KARACHI, Pakistan, Pakistani, Europe, Greece, Faisalabad, Dubai, Egypt, Libya, Tripoli, Pylos, Syria, Karachi