Human trade

The desire for greener pastures, amid increasing hunger and poverty in parts of the world, continues to throw more and more people into the trap of callous human traffickers. This desperate desire to change fortunes condemns many into forced labour or sex slavery unless otherwise caught and jailed by border forces or hit by their bullets to lose their lives. Human trafficking poses a serious challenge to the governments across the world, and is thus focused upon more and more globally with tougher controls. The trade, however, continues to thrive. As of 2018, profits from human trafficking were about $150 billion a year ranking it as one of the most profitable transnational crimes, according to an international study.

Faced with continued harsh economic conditions, Pakistanis are also among the victims of human-trafficking. No local statistics are available though, Pakistanis do feature in media reports about people dying in a refrigerated lorry meant to cross into a European country or people caught or killed while crossing an international border. Local media reports also suggest that well-networked human-trafficking rings operate within the country to manipulate innocent people and lure them into what is not just illegal, but also painful and life-threatening.

Thus the approval of a bill by a parliamentary committee, recommending death or life imprisonment for human traffickers, is a much-needed measure. PTI’s Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak — the mover of the bill titled Trafficking of Persons (Prevention and Rehabilitation) Bill 2019 — says that the current sentence, which is seven years in jail, cannot serve as deterrence to the heinous crime. She has rightly pointed out that people are not just trafficked out of the country, they are also trafficked within the country from one province to another, and those involved go unpunished due to weak legislation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2019.

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