Human sale remains dark blot on Pakistan’s conscience: Report
Islamabad, April 6 (IANS) The recent detention of a former Elite Force officer, who is believed to have been involved in the 2023 Greek boat capsize incident, showcases Pakistan government’s laidback approach to human trafficking, a report has stated.
“Human sale is a dark blot on Pakistan’s conscience. Although global collaborations have attempted to end the scourge, our lawmakers’ efforts remain a letdown. Thousands of Pakistanis are traded annually, yet the conviction rate refuses to improve. Recently, the FIA arrested seven suspects in fake visas, visa fraud and human trafficking cases from Lahore, Sialkot, Multan and Bahawalpur,” an editorial in Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn mentioned.
“Separately, the agency has detained a most-wanted human trafficker. The fact that he is a former Elite Force officer who is believed to have been involved in the 2023 Greek boat tragedy is a scathing indictment of the government’s approach to crime,” it added.
Human traffickers web of deceit increases in times of conflict and rising poverty. 2025 was the second consecutive year, where more than 2,700 fatalities were reported across the world. According to the data collected under the International Organisation for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, at least 2,722 people from the Asia-Pacific region died or disappeared during illegal international migration.
As many as 109 Pakistani nationals were among at least 2,722 persons from the Asia-Pacific region who died or disappeared around the world in 2025 while trying to enter other countries illegally, according to the latest statistics by IOM.
“Clearly, there is a long way to go before the rights of victims of human trafficking and smuggling are guaranteed, and citizens choose not to leave. Law-enforcement has indeed been empowered by many laws. But social sins thrive amid legal ambiguities, influential patronage, corruption and a culture of impunity,” an editorial in Dawn mentioned.
The 2018 Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, despite amendments, imposes fines instead of mandatory imprisonment, and the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act has remained ineffective due to its poor implementation.
Last week, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed the arrest of a most wanted human trafficker on FIA red book who was involved in the June 2023 Greece boat capsize. The accused was earlier serving in Pakistan’s Elite Force.
In January, the arrested trafficker had resisted and attacked a FIA team during a raid conducted in Majra Shumali village of Pakistan’s Gujrat district. Police had booked him for attempted murder and other changes, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
According to a senior FIA official, the most-wanted human trafficker Waqas Ali, alias Waqas Butt, was arrested by FIA Composite Circle, Gujrat. The accused is mentioned in the red book of 2025 and is a proclaimed offender involved in several FIA cases.
The accused was directly connected to the Libya shipwreck in 2023, according to the official. He extorted around Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 3 million from each of the affected families by promising to send them to Greece through illegal sea routes from Libya. The accused is a former Elite Force constable dismissed from the service in 2023 from Gujrat police.
–IANS
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