Trafficked

In Pakistan, human trafficking or smuggling – particularly of children – has always been a problem. Trafficking networks are used to send young boys to the Gulf States as camel jockeys. Our laws against trafficking have been weak, traffickers have seldom been prosecuted and influential people complicit in trafficking have been allowed to get away scot-free. There is some good news though. A report by the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons released on July 19 has revealed that Pakistan has made significant improvement to counter human trafficking. In 2020, the State Department had placed Pakistan on the ‘Tier-II watch list’ considering the country as a source, transit, and destination country for adults and children subjected to trafficking. In most part, such human trafficking facilitates forced labour and prostitution. The report highlights that over the last several years Pakistan was a source of internal trafficking mainly for forced labour, and was at risk of coming down to ‘Tier-III’.

Compared with the previous reporting period, the new report appreciates how the government of Pakistan put overall efforts even during the Covid-19 pandemic that could have a negative impact on the government’s anti-trafficking capacity. This should be good news for all relevant stakeholders. Pakistan has made substantial progress by increasing its investigation and prosecution capacity that has resulted in higher conviction rates of those involved in human trafficking. The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (PTPA-2018) has also contributed to this upgrade as it helped the federal government in referring the victims for protection services. Then the provincial departments also improved their implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) on victims’ identification. Another area that Pakistan has progressed in is the training of stakeholders. The PTPA amendments also helped remove provisions that allowed fines in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking crimes targeting children and women as victims.

While the report says that Pakistan has “improved enough in its efforts to combat human trafficking to be taken off the watch list”, the country must not be complacent since it remains in the tier two category with countries whose governments are not in full compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of US federal law. The picture is not all rosy and further improvements in convictions and investigations must be on the cards. Pakistan also needs to pay more attention to its prosecution and reporting mechanisms. Pakistan must also sign on to the UN’s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons which only a handful of countries including Pakistan have not signed. Internal trafficking too needs to be examined far more closely. The majority of persons trafficked are moved from one part of the country, particularly in Punjab. Bonded labour is the most prevalent form of human trafficking. Other forms of internal trafficking include children trafficked for the begging business, the sex trade, and for work in various places. The problem affects the lives of millions of people in the country. Beyond telling their stories, we need to find ways to protect them and to curb the rate of trafficking both within our borders and beyond them.