A RECENTLY published HRCP report has shed light on the alarming practice of human trafficking in the country. The report titled Modern slavery: Trafficking in Women and Girls in Pakistan describes Pakistan as a “source, transit and destination country for trafficking”. However, the real issue, according to the findings, pertains to internal trafficking “especially forced or bonded labour”. Although human trafficking gangs have existed in the country for decades, running forced begging rings, providing adults and children as fodder for bonded labour, and forcing women and girls into prostitution, there is little reliable data about this disturbing trend. Because of this, the report says, it is difficult to assess the true magnitude of trafficking. Considering that 151 girls have been recovered from Sargodha only since Jan 5 this year by the Punjab police, and 3,571 girls and women remain missing across the province, as reported by this paper last month, one can make an intelligent guess at the extent of this menace.

What is also unfortunate is the apathy of the law enforcers. Most cases of missing women and girls are registered as abductions or kidnappings or simply categorised as ‘elopement’ by police officials. As we have noted in this space before, in many cases the police do not even register a complaint when women and girls from poor families go missing. This indifference stems in large part from what the report describes as the lack of “capacity and understanding of human trafficking” in police ranks. Meanwhile, the challenges of intra-agency communication involving the provincial and federal law-enforcement agencies remain a big hurdle, with the institutional confusion showing up in the non-implementation of the recommendations of a national action plan to curb trafficking. This grim picture is not likely to improve unless the authorities develop the capabilities of the police and provide them with the needed resources, as well as devise a detailed policy on identifying and reporting cases of human trafficking. Additionally, the rehabilitation of victimised women and girls must be given due attention.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2022