‘Govt has strong will to work against trafficking in persons’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan said that government has a strong political will and commitment to move forward with the work against trafficking in persons.

FIA has already developed a National Action Plan (NAP) against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (2021–2025) which aims at detection of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, improve the position of victims and intensify the enforcement of criminal liability.

The minister was speaking in a seminar organise under the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and a high-level consultation workshop for National and Provincial Anti-Human Trafficking Committees held on Wednesday.

The minister said that if the Action Plan is implemented in its true letter and spirit, this would bring trafficking in persons cases to Zero in Pakistan.

Sanaullah Khan urged Director General FIA and other provincial bodies to work in closer coordination with each and UNODC to achieve the objective of eliminating trafficking in persons from Pakistan.

During his speech, the FIA Director-General Mohsin Hassan Butt, said, “We are improving our identification of potential victims and offering greater support to those who are victims of this abhorrent crime.

We are working jointly with UNODC and the European Union to enhance support to the victims of trafficking and vulnerable smuggled migrants. Our National Action Plan to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling is victim-centered and addresses the gaps related to it”.