PM Shehbaz orders probe into human trafficking, vows to bring culprits to justice

ISLAMABAD: In a recent development to probe human trafficking’s, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to step up a campaign against human traffickers, commanding authorities to take stringent action against any trafficker, including Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials who may be implicated as having assisted traffickers.

The tragedy comes on the heels of Greece boat accident wherein over 250 Pakistani nationals perished, which the premier deemed a “national shame.”

While presiding over a high-level meeting in Islamabad on human trafficking, PM Shehbaz expressed anger at the failure to implement his previous directives regarding a 2023 boat accident in Greece in which 250 Pakistanis died. The premier demanded details of Pakistani deaths caused by human trafficking in the last year and directed that action be taken against those who cause these delays in legal cases.

According to officials, of the 174 human trafficking cases that have been filed in court since then, only four have resulted in convictions. The slow pace of enforcement drew criticism from PM Shehbaz, who called repeated incidents a dark reminder of the problem.

He underlined the need to take strong action against such crimes and directed to work with international organizations and intensify campaigns for public awareness.

The premier also instructed the authorities to conduct the current investigation into human trafficking expeditiously and furnish concrete recommendations. He observed that human trafficking puts a stain on the name of Pakistan internationally and there was an undue delay in taking action against the suspects after the boat incident of 2023.

Besides, the Pakistani Embassy in Athens is in regular contact with Greek authorities regarding the recent boat incident, five Pakistani victims have been identified so far, and the process of identifying the rest is underway.

Some areas are identified as hotspots for human trafficking: Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, and Mandi Bahauddin districts. Legislation to combat human trafficking is also being amended.