Forced labour?: LHC orders release of 27 workers

LAHORE: Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmad Khan of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday ordered the release of 27 workers including 14 children who were recovered from a brick kiln. Petitioner Muhammad Anwar had filed a habeas corpus petition for the recovery of his relatives from the alleged detention of kiln owner Haji Sikandar in Gujranwala. The petitioner’s counsel said that the detainees – eight women, five men and 14 children  worked at the kiln but had not been paid wages for a year. He alleged that when they demanded payment, the owner detained them. He alleged that they were tortured and forced to work. The judge deputed a bailiff to check the kiln. He found the detainees there and produced them before the court. The detainees said that they had been forced to work for Haji Sikandar and had been detained and tortured. The judge then ordered that they be set free.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2012.