WHERE the crime of human trafficking is concerned, Pakistan has received mixed marks in the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, released recently by the US State Department.
The report says that while human trafficking remains a substantial problem for the country, efforts are afoot to address outstanding issues.
Also, Pakistan remains on the tier-2 watch list. Pakistan is a source, transit as well as destination country for men, women and children who are trafficked both internally and across borders.
Know more: US report on human trafficking censures Pakistan
The victims are mostly subjected to forced labour or trafficked for sex, while bonded labour has been singled out as the biggest ‘beneficiary’ of this cruel trade.
Reflecting the less than ideal security, political and economic situation in Pakistan, the report says Hazaras, who have been hunted down mercilessly by sectarian killers in Balochistan, “are particularly vulnerable to trafficking”.
However, it should be pointed out that as per the UN’s definition, migrant smuggling and human trafficking are two related but distinct crimes, which are often conflated by local authorities.
Where migrant smuggling is concerned, there is an element of consent involved on part of the person being smuggled, whereas victims who are trafficked are often done so against their will.
The report says the Federal Investigation Agency is making efforts to curb this crime, though the complicity of government officials with traffickers is a major problem. Indeed in many cases human traffickers and their modus operandi are known to functionaries of the state; yet due to the clout and deep pockets of these individuals they are allowed to carry on.
The report rightly points out that a comprehensive anti-trafficking law is needed in Pakistan.
Particularly, the “insufficient political will and capacity” of the state to clamp down on human trafficking must be addressed.
Traffickers prey on society’s weakest members, hence the state’s complacency must be replaced with alacrity to punish those involved in these crimes, while the black sheep within the government apparatus that help facilitate these crimes must also be brought to justice.
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015
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