LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday calling for the establishment of a special committee to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants, specifically focusing on women and children.

The resolution, presented by Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Uzma Kardar, Asma Naz, Raheela Khadim Hussain, and Shazia Abid, urges intervention to address the growing incidents of human trafficking both within Pakistan and across international borders. It sheds light on the alarming rise in smuggling and trafficking activities targeting vulnerable women and children in Punjab.

Speaking on the issue, Ms Kardar said various traffickers were exploiting women and children for begging, prostitution, forced labour, organ trafficking and drug trafficking.

“The federal government is required to submit performance reports annually to the international organizations as per international obligation. To improve this report, all provinces must fulfill their responsibilities,” she added.

Speaker censures minorities minister for unsatisfactory answer to security question

The resolution has demanded formation of a special committee in the Punjab Assembly to address this critical issue. This committee should include not only members of the assembly but also officials from various departments and experts who could assess departmental performance and implement targeted measures to protect women and children from this trafficking network. Additionally, the committee should enhance Pakistan’s image at the global stage.

Meanwhile, Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas said that it was the need of the hour to pay immediate attention to the issues raised in the resolution. He said human trafficking was not only a violation of human rights but it caused damage to Pakistan’s global image. He further stressed that this mafia was not only destroying the lives of innocent people but also causing irreparable loss to the country’s image.

In the assembly, Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan censured Minister for Minorities Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora for not giving a satisfactory answer about the security of worship places for the minorities. He lamented that the question related to the security that was sent to the relevant department in early July and then in August but its answer was still awaited. He demanded the minister to get a written response to the query within 15 minutes while he was suspending the proceedings till that time.

Minister Arora informed the house that there were 3,200 registered churches in Punjab whose security was being looked after by the home department, police and local administration. He suggested setting up a committee with the law minister, home secretary and IG police as its members to resolve the security issues of the minorities.

The minority MPAs from the treasury benches, Emmanuel Athar and Falbus Christopher, complained that churches were provided proper security neither on Easter nor on Christmas day. They demanded permanent security measures at Mariamabad in Sheikhupura where the largest Christian congregation in Asia was held each year.

Later, the chair referred to the privilege committee the issue of no response from the department to the security query.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024