ISLAMABAD: Human trafficking has nothing do with poverty in Pakistan, rather people believe that going abroad and working there will make them notables in the society.

This was stated by Additional Director Immigration Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Mufakhar Adeel while speaking at an event titled ‘Public-Private Partnership Conference on Trafficking in Persons’ held at a local hotel on Wednesday.

“I have interviewed around 900 people, who travelled on fake documents or without documents and were deported, and majority of them were determined that they will try their luck again. Moreover, they consider human traffickers as ‘Messiah’ and that is why they never reveal their names,” he said.

Says influential people are involved in this illegal but profitable business

The event was organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (USJ/TIP) and FIA.

To prove his point, Mr Adeel said that 90pc of the people who were deported from or arrested in different countries for illegally entering there, belonged to Gujranwala division where mostly well-to-do people lived.

He said human trafficking had become a profitable business across the globe.

Earlier in 1960s, he said people from Jhelum and surrounding areas started going to Gulf and western countries and used to send remittances.

“But strict visa policies of different countries forced people to use illegal means for going abroad,” he said.

Mr Adeel said in 2017 as many as 4,538 Pakistanis were deported from Europe. A large number of Pakistanis, however, are killed while travelling illegally, he said.

“During my service I have observed that influential people are involved in human trafficking. I suggest that university students should be sensitised to human trafficking so that they could stop their relatives from going abroad through illegal means,” he said.

Participants were informed that 24.9 million people are trafficked every year across the globe.

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, UNODC Vienna, Davor Raus said AT&T, Nokia, BT and Microsoft were providing technological solutions to combat human trafficking.

He emphasised the importance of public-private partnership and said: “Partnership between governments and the private sector in preventing and fighting all forms of trafficking has become the need of the hour. It is with collective efforts that we can defeat the menace and make the world a safer place.”

Earlier, participants were informed that women and children in Pakistan are trafficked for sexual exploitation, sometimes in the form of forced marriages. To help minimise trafficking in persons, UNODC and FIA have been working in close collaboration for many years. As partners both UNODC and FIA realise the importance of taking all stakeholders, from both public and private sectors, onboard to fight trafficking in persons.

FIA Additional Director General Immigration Ahmed Mukkarram in his opening remarks appreciated the efforts of UNODC and the assistance provided by the US Department of State.

He stated: “It is with these efforts that the law against Trafficking in Persons has been enacted in Pakistan.”

UNODC Consultant Naveed Ahmad Shinwari gave a presentation on the roles, responsibilities, and initiatives of civil society, NGOs and the private sector in combating trafficking in persons.

He said: ‘Every sector is making efforts to fight this menace, but no coordination exists between relevant stakeholders to address this issue holistically.’

Lucy Coburn from the US embassy in Islamabad delivered a presentation, while Samantha Novick and Andrea Balint of US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, participated in the conference.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2019