ISLAMABAD: China said it had investigated the cross-cultural marriages of its men with the Pakistani girls and found no evidence of prostitution.
“These are lies that Pakistani girls are trafficked to China for forced prostitution or sale of organs,” said Lijian Zhao, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, in a tweet.
“Most marriages between China and Pakistan are good. Illegal marriage brokers shall be punished, not brides and bridegrooms.”
The Chinese official shared a video of a girl who is narrating her blissful married life with a Chinese man, who is seen in the video holding her.
“I am Hina Patras. I am a Pakistani and a resident of Mingora, Swat,” said the Pakistani girl. “I am married for five months now. I’m very happy with the marriage.”
My in-laws are very good and my husband is ‘very loving and caring’, she said.
On May 15, China decided to withhold the visas of Pakistani women planning to travel to China with their spouses, after the complaints of human smuggling in the garb of cross-cultural weddings were received.
Zhao said the embassy had alerted Pakistani authorities after witnessing an unusual increase in wedding visa applications this year.
“Last year, 142 Pakistani women applied for such visas after marrying Chinese nationals,” said Lijian Zhao, while talking exclusively to Urdu News.
He said this year 140 Pakistani brides had applied for this category of visa so far. He said China was investigating all 142 cases of weddings that took place in 2018, and initial investigations revealed that in a few isolated cases the couples were experiencing trouble.
“We are trying to determine if there are any problems. We are ready to help those girls if there is an issue.” Zhao also mentioned a complaint by a Pakistani wife who wrote a letter to a Pakistani federal minister complaining of torture.
After receiving the letter, he said, the Chinese authorities probed the matter but found no evidence of torture. The couple later divorced, after which the diplomat said the local government in China provided the Pakistani women with a train and air ticket to travel back home. She arrived back in the country on May 2.
Lijian Zhao, however, denied media reports about Pakistani women being trafficked and subjected to forced prostitution and organ sale in China. “Lies are being spread on the internet and the media that the Pakistani girls are being sent to China for forced prostitution or sale of organs. It is totally fabricated and for sensational purposes. There is no evidence for it,” he said.
Meantime a local court in Pakistan dismissed the bail application of 11 Chinese nationals in a case of the alleged fake marriages, forced prostitution and organ trade of Pakistani girls in China.