ISLAMABAD – In 2018, more than 80,000 Pakistanis got deported and half ofthem were expelled from Saudi Arabia.
A report on human trafficking in Pakistan compiled by the NationalCommission for Human Rights (NHCR) has noted these findings. The report isnamed ‘The Menace of Human Trafficking/Smuggling—Pakistan’s response to theProblem’ and will be released next month.
The report states that a large number of women and children are trafficked,but the Federal Investigation Agency is unable to act due to lack ofmandate.
NHCR Researcher and author of the report, Ghulam Mohammad, said that theyhave interviewed around 50 people who moved abroad illegally. Theinterviews disclosed that people who could not reach western countriesafter several attempts have become agents.
These individuals are involved in human trafficking, as they havecomprehensive knowledge of different routes. He said that one of the mostpainful findings is that several girls are sent to the Middle East and toldthat they will get jobs in beauty salons. But after reaching there, theyare used for prostitution.
“Those girls cannot come back to Pakistan as they know their families willnever accept them because of social pressure,” he said.
Mohammad also said that most people are trafficked via the Iran border, asit is easy because there’s just one FIA checkpost there. “However, wecannot blame the FIA because the FIA only has 4,500 employees and it cannotcurb human trafficking with such a small number of employees.”
Read Top Stories
The report also found that a majority of people trying to move abroadbelong to Mandi Bahauddin and Gujrat. The NHCR official further told thatmany people do not return after traveling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj andUmrah.
He said that the FIA should be given the mandate to deal with humantrafficking within the country.
According to a statement by NHCR Chairman, Justice (retd.) Justice AliNawaz Chohan, Pakistanis are 10thamong individuals in the world who try tomigrate illegally to Australia and European countries.
Moreover, Pakistan is a crucial route for thousands of illegal migrantsfrom Afghanistan who access Iran through Balochistan border that is thegateway to Europe through Turkey.
