Pakistan human rights body concerned over human trafficking

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Raising concern over the country’s human rights situation especially for women, Pakistan Human Rights Commission believed that developing comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and National Action Plan will not make difference until they are implemented or practiced on the ground.

On the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, Pakistan’s human rights body has replugged its 2021 report on trafficking and raised concern over in women and girls’ situation in the country.

“In order to identify the root causes and magnitude of trafficking, there should be a system to collect, compile and report data on various dimensions of trafficking in persons in Pakistan. Officials of concerned department and LEAs should be sensitized and their capabilities built to identify and report a crime,” the HRC said in its last year’s report.

“Developing a comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation nad National Action Plan will not make difference until they are implemented or practiced on the ground. There is a need to develop synergy and story coordination among all stakeholders to prevent trafficking and protect victims, and punish traffickers,” the body stated further.

The condition of women in Pakistan has been deteriorating severely.

Revealing a grim picture of the state of women in Pakistan, a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Pakistan as the second-worst country in terms of gender parity, a media report said.

In the Global Gender Gap Report which was released by WEF, Pakistan is placed in the 145th spot in a survey of 146 countries, Dawn reported.

As per the statistics, Pakistan has 107 million women and the country closed at 56.4 per cent in the report’s gender gap index. The report observed, “this is the highest overall level of parity Pakistan has posted” since the launch of the global gender gap report by WEF in 2006.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi on July 30 said that the country is committed to combating the menace of human trafficking by establishing an effective coordination infrastructure to prosecute traffickers and protect victims.

“Pakistan has embarked upon stringent anti-trafficking measures to enforce legal frameworks in line with international standards. Pakistan has enacted the Trafficking in Person Act, 2018 to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, especially women and children. This law prescribes imprisonment of up to ten years for the perpetrators of such illegal acts. I would take this opportunity to extend my appreciation and acknowledgment to the federal and provincial governments and all other relevant stakeholders who came together to fight this crime,” he had said in a statement.

Notably, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had earlier said that Islamabad High Court (IHC) has provided a glimmer of hope for hundreds of victims of enforced disappearances in the country.

In a landmark decision, Chief Justice Athar Minallah had issued an order saying that “When there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it is, prima facie, a case of ‘enforced disappearance’ then it becomes an obligation of the State and all its organs to trace the disappeared citizen.”

Since March 2011, 8,463 complaints of enforced disappearances have been received by Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. Activists estimate the real number to be higher, HRW said.

The issue of forced disappearance in Pakistan originated during the Musharraf era (1999 to 2008), but the practice continued during subsequent governments.

Human rights activists allege that the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are responsible for the cases of forced disappearance in Pakistan.

Enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country, or seek individual or social rights. Cases of enforced disappearances have been majorly recorded in the Balochistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country which host active separatist movements. (ANI)