Tragic Incidents of Human Trafficking
An accident occurred on a boat of immigrants going to Spain from the West African country of Mauritania. Fifty people including forty-four Pakistanis were killed. The Prime Minister called for a report from the concerned authorities and said that strict action will be taken against the people involved in human trafficking and no lapse will be tolerated in this regard, full measures are being taken against human trafficking.
Human Trafficking in Pakistan
Like many countries in the world, Pakistan also faces the problem of human trafficking, which is said to earn billions of dollars annually. In the past years, there have been incidents in which people wishing to go abroad fell into the hands of illegal immigration agents, and many of those who chose the dangerous route have even died. The main reasons for this problem in Pakistan are the increase in unemployment and rising inflation, due to which ordinary citizens are forced to leave their homeland legally or illegally.
Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking
According to Pakistani authorities, efforts are underway to prevent human trafficking in the country, but human rights activists say that the results of these efforts are still not satisfactory. In the annual report prepared by the US State Department on the subject of human trafficking, Pakistan is being classified as “Fair Two” from 2022. According to the interpretation made in the report, this tier includes those countries that do not meet the standards of the US human trafficking law, but seem to be making sufficient efforts in this regard.
Women and Girls as Victims
Among Pakistanis who are victims of human trafficking, the largest number and the most tragic situation are girls and women. There are laws against human trafficking in Pakistan, but the lack of implementation is visible everywhere. One of the main reasons for the problem in this matter is that it is not clear in practice what a law enforcement agency has to do. Human trafficking is an international problem. In Pakistan, the responsibility of preventing it has been given to the FIA, but in fact, many cases of human trafficking fall under the jurisdiction of local or provincial governments. In this regard, not being clear about the situation gives rise to many problems. For example, should a case of human trafficking be reported to someone in the early stages? Who will run the case and what will become of this case? These are the questions, the answers to which require a regular clear and solid strategy. In fact, criminals take advantage of the situation of youth struggling with poverty, deprivation, hopelessness and economic problems, by showing them dreams of a better future and extorting money from them, sending them abroad illegally. Agents involved in human trafficking in Sindh and South Punjab take innocent men and women abroad to beg in the name of jobs. Pakistani women and girls fall victim to traffickers due to coercion and deprivation and false promises of a better life as they are the most vulnerable section of the society.
Routes and Dangers of Illegal Immigration
According to some estimates, at least 20,000 people cross illegally from Pakistan to Europe and other countries every year, mostly from Baluchistan province through Iran and Turkey to Greece and Italy. Many of these illegal immigrants lose their lives during the journey after being shot by border guards, extreme weather conditions, capsizing of boats in sea waves or disputes over compensation with illegal agents.
Dreams of a Better Future
Young people who dream of a better future do not hesitate to risk their lives for this journey, considering access to Europe as the fulfillment of their dream. From the rugged mountains of Iran to the seas of Greece, countless young people lose their lives every year. The bitter truth is that the largest number of immigrants are Pakistani youth. After every major disaster, the government announces a crackdown on human traffickers, but then these actions fade away over time. Punjab and Azad
Human trafficking is on the rise in certain districts of Kashmir and according to an FIA report, 15,000 Pakistanis try to go abroad illegally every year, with a large number of them becoming victims of accidents, while parts of the country Infamy comes separately. According to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), not only Pakistanis, but also people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and many other countries in the region use the same route and method to illegally go to Europe. are According to the IOM, illegal immigrants use three routes from Pakistan to Europe, Middle East and Australia, of which Balochistan, Iran and Turkey are the most used routes to Europe. Apart from Taftan, the border area of Pakistan and Iran, the secret routes of Mundbalu and Pesin are used on this route. Organized groups involved in illegal migration of people extort millions of rupees from migrants for everything from preparing fake documents to land, sea and air travel. An agent charges a minimum of $2500 to ship from Iran to Turkey by land from Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta, while it costs $4,000 to ship to Greece. According to these data, around two thousand people go out of Pakistan illegally every month and these are the people whose data is known to the concerned people.
Legal Framework and Challenges
The reason for such an alarming rate of human trafficking in Pakistan is not at all due to lack of attention to legislation in this regard. Rather, the fact is that there are many laws in this regard. Under the Pakistan Penal Code, various forms of human trafficking, including kidnapping, trafficking of children for sexual purposes, enslaving a free citizen, are strictly prohibited and the perpetrators can be fined up to life imprisonment. Penalties include imprisonment. In this context, other laws to be created include the Bonded Labor System Abolition Act (BLSA) and the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance. However, human trafficking and human trafficking The main reason for the failure to control trafficking is that there is a conflict between these laws and the laws framed under the Pakistan Penal Code A minimum of seven and a maximum of fourteen years of imprisonment can be imposed
Under the Penal Code, there are usual sentences for those arrested on charges similar to the same charges, which has left the subordinate courts confused in determining the sentences in such cases. Moreover, it has also been observed that till now not a single criminal has been punished under BLSA. Several law enforcement agencies at the federal and provincial levels are active in preventing human trafficking from Pakistan. These include provincial police departments and the immigration wing of the Federal Investigation Agency, or FIA. At the beginning of this year, the FIA launched a comprehensive operation against human trafficking, the results of which have been very encouraging so far. As a result of this operation, 655 human traffickers have been arrested so far, of which 14 were most wanted while 136 were commercial traffickers. The bitter truth is that growing poverty, unemployment and lack of economic opportunities in the country are the main reasons for the youth to leave their homeland. While it is necessary to break the network of human traffickers for the complete remedy of human trafficking, effective measures for the development and prosperity of the youth are also indispensable. Abundant opportunities for better employment within the country can only prevent the youth from this journey of death.
