Dying to migrate

January 19, 2025

The government is set to introduce stricter laws to check human trafficking

Dying to migrate


I

n its recent session, the National Assembly discussed the issue of human trafficking. The House was informed that the government planned to introduce soon stricter laws to curb this menace.

Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar assured the members that the proposed legislation would be introduced “within days.” Through the bill, the government aims to amend criminal law to control human trafficking more effective.

Scores of Pakistani youth have lost their lives and thousands have been arrested while trying to cross borders to illegally enter Europe.

Following the December 4 migrant boat tragedy in Greece, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered the confiscation of properties and assets of human traffickers. He has also told the relevant authorities to take strict legal action against all human trafficking groups and ensure that they get exemplary punishments.

Sharif issued the orders while chairing a meeting on measures taken against human trafficking in the country in the backdrop of December 4 boat incident.

Three dozen people drowned in the sea after five boats carrying scores of people capsized near Greece in December. Some of the deceased were Pakistanis under 18 years of age. Earlier, in June 2024, in another incident, a large boat had capsized near Greece. It had carried around 700 people, including 350 Pakistanis. A similar incident has now happened only six months later despite government claims last time around that strict measures had been introduced to stop human trafficking and illegal migration out of Pakistan.

The most common routes used by human traffickers from Pakistan are via Iran-Turkey-Greece and Egypt-Libya-Greece. Sometimes the victims are taken to the United Arab Emirates on valid visas.

Officials say at least 5,000 Pakistanis, mostly young men, are currently in Libya, waiting for an opportunity to enter Europe. A majority of these people are from central and upper Punjab.

After the recent incident, Aamar Aftab Qureshi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Greece, confirmed that several Pakistani children (aged 13-18 years) had been on the boats. “This trend of sending children illegally is extremely dangerous,” the ambassador stated.

The five boats were illegally carrying Pakistanis, among others, from Libya to Greek shores. The accident apparently occurred due to the overcrowding of the boats. Some of the bodies have been recovered and brought back. The deceased belonged to Narowal, Sialkot and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

On January 16, as many as 50 migrants attempting to reach Spain by boat from West Africa were reported to have drowned. Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people from a boat that had departed from Mauritania on January 2 and had carried 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis.

In the recent meeting, the prime minister praised the actions taken by the Federal Investigation Agency against some government officials involved in human trafficking. He directed effective prosecution of all individuals involved in the heinous trade.

Most people who undertake the risky journey to reach Europe are uneducated. Their educated brethren try instead to seek admissions in European universities and schools.

In the recent session of National Assembly, several lawmakers identified unemployment as a significant factor in the willingness among the youth to travel abroad using illegal means.

The National Assembly was told that as many as 176 human traffickers had been arrested and that properties worth Rs 420 million had been seized in recent months. The authorities have also offloaded as many as 50,000 people in last two years to curb illegal migration from Pakistan.

Talking to The News on Sunday, families of the victims said that the FIA had failed to take effective action against immigration agents. “There is a nexus between the agents and the FIA officials that enables the youth to leave the country,” Muhammad Akhtar, a relative of a Pakistani youth who left the country last year says.

“We know that the youth are desperate to leave the country since they see no future for themselves on account of political instability and unemployment. Many parents are willing to sell family land to give money to agents and allow their children to take this risk. There is no accountability. The conditions are favourable for exploitation of the youth,” he says.

“Our relative died after being shot by Greek police after he tried to illegally enter Greece from Turkey a couple of years ago,” Muhammad Khan from Mandi Bahauddin said. The boys was in his 20s. He had travelled with many others in a container crossing Iranian and then Turkish border. “The wounds will not heal with merely statements from the authorities. We have seen no concrete action beyond press statements after every such incident,” he said.

“Sending boys less than 18 years old is a serious matter. The state must act against this,” he says. “We need to create better opportunities here for our youths. Otherwise, this risk-taking will continue,” Khan says.

When he took over as interior minister in March 2024, Mohsin Naqvi had also sought a detailed report on the 2023 boat capsizing accident from the FIA. He had also said that those involved in human trafficking did not deserve leniency. The report was also submitted to the prime minister. A committee has also been set up to probe into the recent incident.


The author is a staff reporter. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com. He tweets at @waqargillani

Dying to migrate