GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Gujranwala zone, has hired the services of two special prosecutors to deal with the human trafficking cases in courts.

Moreover, an approval to hire the services of four more such prosecutors has been sought from the higher authorities.

Official sources in the FIA said initially the services of advocates Jalees Meer and Asif Meeran had been hired for Gujranwala and Gujrat circles, respectively, for the prosecution of human trafficking cases in a more effective way.

The cases relating to human trafficking were being prosecuted by the FIA assistant director (legal) but to strengthen the legal section and to increase the ratio of convictions such a step has been taken, they said.

It is learnt that a meeting of both the special prosecutors with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also held last week where the PM issued directions to curb the menace of human trafficking.

These prosecutors later held a meeting with the FIA Gujranwala and Gujrat circles staff on how to collect and preserve evidences in such cases as they (prosecutors) have prepared a new check list for the implementation of evidence collection methods.

A senior official said the FIA teams had collected some solid evidences of the involvement of human traffickers in recent boat tragedies of Greece and Mauritania-Morocco such as written agreements between the human traffickers and their clients; footages of different airports from where the illegal immigrants departed and the traffickers were present outside departure halls; and booking of air tickets in bulk from the same travel agency for transit destinations.

He said two key human traffickers invovled in the Greece boat capsize tragedy in December, Saqib Jajja and Qamar Zamna Jajja, had got booked at least 50 Umrah tickets of their clients from the same travel agency and the FIA had initiated an inquiry against those travel agencies that were connected with those traffickers.

The British High Commission in Islamabad had provided financial assistance to Gujrat FIA circle in establishment of a purpose built evidence preservation room which was inaugurated by the deputy British high commissioner in December the last.

FIA Gujranwala Zone has so far lodged at least 31 cases in connection with the Greece boat tragedy -- 24 in Gujranwala circle and seven in Gujrat circle. It has arrested 16 suspects and seized 12 bank accounts of these traffickers.

At least 13 cases of human trafficking were lodged with the Gujranwala FIA zone in connection with the Moroccan boat tragedy and five suspects were arrested.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025