Chowrangi

Human trafficking differs from people smuggling. In the latter, people voluntarily request smuggler’s service for fees and there may be no deception involved in the (illegal) agreement. On arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is usually free. On the other hand, the trafficking victim is enslaved, or the terms of their debt bondage are highly exploitative. The trafficker takes away the basic human rights of the victim.(Wikipedia)

According to U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008:

Pakistan is a significant source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Pakistan faces a considerable internal trafficking problem reportedly involving thousands of women and children trafficked to settle debts and disputes, or forced into sexual exploitation or domestic servitude. According to one NGO, children as young as six years old are forced into domestic service, and face physical and sexual abuse. Bonded labor is a large internal problem in Pakistan; unconfirmed estimates of Pakistani victims of bonded labor, including men, women, and children, are in the millions. A sizeable number of Pakistani women and men migrate voluntarily to the Gulf, Iran, Turkey and Greece for work as domestic servants or construction workers. Once abroad however, some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude or debt bondage, including restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. In addition, some NGOs contend that Pakistani girls are trafficked to the Middle East for sexual exploitation. Pakistan is also a destination for women and children from Bangladesh, India, Burma, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgz Republic, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Burma are trafficked through Pakistan to the Gulf.

The recent and shocking news about human trafficking is from Quetta, Balochistan. A driver of a container escaped leaving his vehicle behind which contained more than 100 people. Sxity dead bodies are recovered from the container and many fainted people are recovered also. Reportedly this happens in Hazar Ganji, Quetta. The container was reportedly being transported from Afghanistan to Iran via Pakistan. Eyewitnesses say, most of the deceased apparently belonged to Afghanistan. They said the driver of the container when opened the container’s door found the people inside it dead and unconscious due to suffocation.

Ansar Barni told Geo news that he had worked for human trafficking and requested the government many times to take actions on it. He further added that it is a mafia involved in this act and they smuggled people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Most of the people found were in conscious and even cant talk. They are shifted in nearby hospitals.

Pakistan’s image in the world is again a question.

Other posts by Hina Safdar

• PCB confused On Players Ban - March 11th, 2010
• PCB Crackdown on Former Captains post Aussie Tour - March 10th, 2010
• More than 80,000 cell phones snatched last year in Pakistan - March 6th, 2010
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• Basant and the Kite Plight- To be or not to be - February 22nd, 2010
• Happy Anniversary to our beloved Democracy - February 18th, 2010
• Google Buzz: Is Google Social Networking Tool A Twitter Killer? - February 12th, 2010
• Should Late Night Call Packages be banned? - February 4th, 2010
• Why Afridi Bites the Ball? - February 1st, 2010