FIA nabs two in trafficking case

The anti-human trafficking cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Islamabad said on Friday it had arrested two additional suspects of a gang involved in the trafficking of Pakistani citizens who were arrested while travelling illegally in China to enter Hong Kong. This brings the total number of arrested suspects to four.

Authorities in China had detained the 35 Pakistanis following which the Prime Minister's Secretariat issued directives to the FIA to launch a crackdown against those involved in human trafficking.

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Such crackdowns are routinely ordered in the wake of tragedies involving human trafficking such as the Greece boat tragedy in June this year in which more than 300 Pakistanis were killed after their boat capsized.

A cosmetic crackdown followed with the FIA claiming big arrests even as major trafficking networks continued to operate. The latest incident had the agencies scrambling again, with the claims of ‘big’ arrests in its wake.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2023.