Says a highly organised racket of people smuggling had taken deep roots in the country. PHOTO: FILE
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has prepared a report on the 100 major human smugglers in Pakistan.
These human smugglers, operating from major cities of Pakistan and abroad, run an orgnanised network and earn billions of rupees by smuggling thousands of Pakistanis each year.
A senior and well-reputed official of the FIA has compiled a comprehensive report on the organised network operating in Pakistan for years. The report, unveiling more than 100 human smugglers and their links in the immigration department, has been sent to FIA bosses.
According to the report, the crime has taken deep roots in the country, with many human traffickers living respectable lives as politicians and businessmen in big cities. Some of them have also taken up residence abroad, including UAE, South Africa and different European countries.
These people have been carrying out their transactions over phone. The report says the immigration officials, deployed for many years at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports, have also become a regular part of the racket. These officials not only facilitate in the smuggling but also use the lacunas in the law to continue this crime.
The report says these FIA immigration officials take $400 to $500 for each person that uses the services of a human smuggler for going abroad. These officials charge $1,000 to $1,500 from every person leaving for Canada and Europe for employment.
Pakistan’s most populated province, Punjab, is considered a haven for a great number of human smugglers, who enjoy support of influential people from politics, government and civil bureaucracy. Sources said the majority 60% to 70% of the people using smugglers as means to go abroad belong to Punjab.
Karachi is the second largest hub of these activities, where representatives of these smugglers operate due to the fact that most of the international flights operate from the city.
Sources say that due to their longstanding links, the smugglers and the immigration officials have turned into a ‘family’, with very strong internal bonds.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2014.
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Human smuggling is an economic activity and should be permitted. This is the only way the poor and disenfranchised people make their way overseas for jobs and career. Otherwise only the rich and corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, judges, establishment arrange for their progeny to obtain visas for education or overseas settlement on business visas after paying hundreds and thousands of Pounds\Dollars that they have ripped-off from people like us.
Article lacks both depth and breadth. ET you can do much better job than this one.
Okay seriously ET, do the homework and learn the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling. What you are reporting about here is human smuggling where smugglers transport illegal immigrants into other countries for payment.
Human trafficking is without consent of the person and is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a human for the purpose of exploitation.