“We will bring the perpetrators involved in human trafficking to justice,” vows PM Shehbaz
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday formed a special task force to combat human trafficking, with the Prime Minister himself leading the efforts.
“We will bring the perpetrators involved in human trafficking to justice,” the Prime Minister declared while chairing a review meeting on measures to curb human trafficking in Pakistan.
The initiative came after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched an investigation into 20 of its officials allegedly involved in human smuggling.
Additionally, the federal government initiated a high-level probe into the recent tragic boat incidents in Morocco, where at least 44 Pakistanis drowned while attempting to reach Spain from West Africa.
In another incident, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned after their boats capsized near Greece on the night of December 13-14, 2024.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the human trafficking groups involved in the deaths of Pakistanis in illegal immigrant boat incidents, arrests made by various institutions, FIRs filed, and the future course of action.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to accelerate the arrests of those involved in human trafficking and directed all relevant departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to play an active role in identifying the human smugglers.
He remarked that the entire nation was deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of Pakistanis in the illegal immigrant boat incidents.
The meeting revealed that six organized human trafficking groups had been identified, 12 FIRs had been filed, 25 individuals identified, three key suspects arrested, and the names of 16 individuals had been added to the passport control list.
The Prime Minister instructed the identification of human trafficking groups and stressed the need to impose exemplary punishment on them.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Azam Nazir Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.
