May 10th: The story of 19-year-old Shakil who has yet to overcome the trauma he endured as a camel jockey in a Gulf state years ago was just one of the disturbing stories of the 200 of 1,200 boys returned to Rahim Yar Khan in deplorable conditions years ago. They have yet to find their footing in life. Shakil attends school but lags behind and is in class eight. A physician at a nearby district who treats former child jockeys says many of them suffer from mental health issues due to having been exposed to trauma at the hands of their employers in Gulf states. This is despite the passing of laws that banned the use of child jockeys in the early 2000s and even though, in 2002, Pakistan ratified the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance which banned the trafficking of children … [Read more...]
Human trafficking: FIA foils bid to smuggle 28 people to Libya
LAHORE, May 7th: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on May 6 caught 28 people attempting to travel to Libya on fake Protectorate of Emigrants stamps, The Express Tribune has learnt. FIA Immigration officials deployed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport had previously received information that there would be an attempt to traffic as many as 90 people to Libya on fake travelling documents. They checked the immigration stamps of the 28 passengers, requested Protectorate of Emigrants officials to verify them, and discovered that they had been forged. The passengers were bound for Libya via Abu Dhabi on Ittehad Airlines flight EY-242. FIA Immigration Assistant Director Samiullah and Inspector Riaz then referred the 28 people to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) … [Read more...]
Human trafficking
Thursday, April 25, 2013: Today remittances of Pakistani expatriates hover around US$ 13-14 billion which accounts for almost 7 per cent of the GDP and nearly 60% of the total tax revenue generated in Pakistan. Thus foreign remittances apart from being the mainstay of the Pakistan economy are also subsidizing the social security net in the country. It is estimated that almost 60,0000 Pakistanis go abroad every year for employment through Recruiting and Employment agencies licensed by the government and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) established in the public sector in 1976. That is of course the brighter facade of the phenomenon of economic migration. There is another side to it, a much darker and the most painful aspect of the lure and craze for seeking jobs abroad. … [Read more...]
Hazara asylum seekers: Network of human traffickers busted
ISLAMABAD, April 10th: While many Hazaras were fortunate enough to get out of Pakistan in their efforts to escape ethnic and sectarian violence, some were not as lucky. Ninety-four members of the Hazara community from Parachinar in Kurram Agency and Quetta, Balochistan left families in June 2012. They were attempting to seek asylum in Australia. Three members of a gang of human traffickers which was recently arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) have revealed that the 94 Hazaras drowned after the sinking of the ship which was illegally transporting them from Indonesia to Australia. “Their bodies were never found. The ship sank in the dark of night and only few managed to survive,” the human traffickers told the FIA … [Read more...]
Human traffickers arrested in Gwadar
QUETTA, July 9: At least eight local agents involved in human trafficking were rounded up from different areas of Gwadar district on July 7. Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Suhailur Rehman Baloch told Daily Times that he raided various places in Gwadar with the district police officer and Tehsildar Balaach Gichki, arresting eight main local agents involved in human trafficking in Balochistan. Baloch said that the agents arrested were involved in the Shooli Jam bazaar incident where 18 people were killed and two injured. The deputy commissioner said that the agents were in police custody and were being questioned regarding their involvement in human trafficking. He confirmed that the accused would be handed over to the FIA for further investigation. Baloch said that the culprits were the main … [Read more...]