Migrant smuggling and human trafficking – The Nation

Unemployment and extreme pov­erty in various countries have made many millions of men, women, and children vulnerable to traf­ficking and smuggling. Spurred by the twin crises of rising in­flation and unemployment, scores of Pakistanis are cross­ing national borders through illegal routes. They are even­tually victimised by people who exploit their poverty and helplessness. Due to the prevalent economic strain in the country, peo­ple fleeing across borders are regard­ed as ‘economic migrants.' The enor­mity of the issue is exemplified in the fact that thousands of Pakistanis are at present imprisoned in various coun­tries on charges of violation of immi­gration laws and tampering with travel documents. Labour scarcity, aging pop­ulations, and economic opportunities in destination countries are pull factors for legal and illegal migration. Smug­glers and traffickers are exploiting such opportunities in the existing interna­tional system that leave people suscep­tible to enslavement and violence.

Many of the criminals work hand in glove with networks located in Iran and Turkey. They entice young people to­wards fanciful dreams and trap them to pay a heavy price which in contem­porary parlance is dubbed as Modern Slavery. Alarmingly, a trend of girls traf­ficked from Pakistan to China, through fake nuptial knots, has also emerged. Many stories about the trafficking of brides, forced prostitution and organ harvesting have proliferated in the re­cent past. Fictitious Chinese grooms and matchmaking agencies lure teen­age girls into marriage, employment, and stay and deceitfully transport them to the black market of sex and organ transplant in China.

Emphatically, the concepts of smug­gling and trafficking have to be clear­ly distinguished in print and electronic media. The press reports, articles, and interviews must be very categorical to sensitise the public on the issue right­ly. The training for journalists and aca­demia on the difference between traf­ficking in persons and smuggling of migrants can also be beneficial. The con­cepts of “human smuggling” and “hu­man trafficking” are distinct from each other. The key difference between the two is freedom of choice. The first, un­like trafficking, does not involve the ele­ment of coercion, and it is always trans­national; in other words, it requires a person willingly agree to gain illegal entry into a foreign country. Whereas, trafficking aims to exploit the victims sexually or physically. It involves con­scription, transfer, and reception. In the case of smuggling, migrants themselves or their parents/guardians willingly enter into a formal or informal agree­ment, which means there is a compo­nent of consent. The former essentially involves cross-border movement while the latter may take place within nation­al boundaries as well.

FIA is the lead agency dealing with ex­ternal human trafficking and migrant smuggling issues, while the provincial departments deal with internal traffick­ing. FIA has made significant progress on a range of important activities includ­ing the development of a Strategic Na­tional Action Plan (2021-2025), approv­al of Rules for trafficking and migrant smuggling laws, the establishment of provincial anti-trafficking committees, development of SOPs for victim support and referral mechanism, capacity build­ing activities, improved performance of Anti Human Trafficking Circle (AHTCs), coordination with Police and relevant stakeholders, and HTMS activities in FIA Link Offices. It is busting trafficking rings and new scams one after the oth­er. The Agency also operationalised the Victim Reception and Facilitation Centre (VRFC) in Taftan in 2021. There is a 24/7 helpline (111-345-786) to facilitate the victims. The US State Department re­leased its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) re­port in 2022 wherein Pakistan has been excluded from the watchlist.

However, there is a strong need of sen­sitising people and projecting aware­ness of media as well. Large national multi-media campaigns, the use of ce­lebrities, newspaper articles, social me­dia, radio discussions, SMS campaigns, drama/theatre, diaspora organisations, etc. can be useful in this regard. The best example is the Blue Heart Cam­paign #AquiEstoy against human traf­ficking. The campaign was successfully launched in Mexico and eventually at­tracted the attention of millions of peo­ple across the globe. The campaign illus­trated some forms of human trafficking and highlighted the groups vulnerable to this crime. There are also some Pak­istani dramas, Daldal (The Swamp), Dil Na Umeed tou Naheen (The heart is not hopeless), and Damsa (White Silk) fea­ture the perils of trafficking and smug­gling. We need more of such serials to increase the level of awareness reach­ing the masses.

There is growing interactivity be­tween trafficking in persons, drug-re­lated crimes, and terrorist activities in Pakistan. The existence of trafficking routes can be correlated to terrorism and drug routes, as they can easily be used to move illegal drugs and proceeds of crime without any traceable foot­print. Of note, insensitivity among the masses, lack of cohesion among the var­ious law enforcement agencies, and ab­sence of reliable data have largely posed barriers to arresting the problem effec­tively. Poverty elimination and litera­cy for poorer communities, where traf­ficking happens with parental consent, can also help tackle the problem. The begging mafias involved in internal traf­ficking must also be disbanded immedi­ately. The menace of HTMS can only be curbed through a coordinated response as no single agency has the wherewith­al or the capacity to permanently halt the ill practices of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The government has notified federal, provincial, and district-level committees to enhance the coor­dination and synergy amongst all the stakeholders. There must be a central database to perform data analysis and to share information regularly with law enforcement agencies. FIA, Provincial Police, Police Training Colleges, Social Welfare Department, Labour Depart­ment, Child Protection Bureau, and Aca­demia can closely coordinate for capac­ity building and information sharing on HTMS. The relevant stakeholders have to comprehend the scope and size of this problem, contributing factors, and cur­rent response so that more effective ini­tiatives can be taken to end such vicious forms of human exploitation.

Masood Ahmed

The writer is an assistant director at the Federal Investigation Agency and is also a Certified Master Trainer at FIA Academy, Islamabad