PM Forms Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Networks

PM Forms Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Networks

Premier of the State Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has formed an exclusive task force that he will head personally — that will tackle the human trafficking networks operating within Pakistan in the wake of a recent increase in the number of fatalities on boats that transport migrants.

“We will bring the perpetrators involved in human trafficking to justice,” the premier said when he presided over an annual review meeting on ways to reduce people trafficking within the nation on Friday.

The prime minister emphasized the need to speed up the process of arresting people who are involved in trafficking. The prime minister directed all relevant departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to actively identify human traffickers.

The prime minister stated that all of the nation, including himself, was saddened by the tragic deaths of Pakistanis on the ship of immigrants who were not legal.

In the course of the meeting, the prime minister was informed of the various groups that were responsible for the killings of Pakistanis in the illegal immigrant boat incident, the arrests made by different institutions in Pakistan and FIRs that were filed and the next plan of action.

The participants were informed that six human trafficking organizations had been discovered, 12 FIRs had been filed 25, 25 suspects had been identified, three suspects had been detained, and 16 people had been added to the list of passport control.

The meeting also covered information regarding the snatching of vehicles, bank accounts, and assets. The meeting was also updated regarding the measures initiated against suspect FIA officers and staff.

Additionally, the international investigating committee informed the company of the report.

The prime minister ordered the authorities in charge to find the trafficking organizations and to impose severe punishments on them.

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The incident follows an uncrewed boat, including 66 Pakistanis and, capsized off Moroccan coast and killed at more than 50 people.

The ill-fated boat left Mauritania on the 2nd of January with an estimated 86 migrants aboard. Moroccan authorities claimed that 66 passengers were Pakistani citizens and reported that it had saved 36 passengers following the accident.

Human trafficking and boat accidents involving migrants are becoming increasingly frequent, killing many Pakistanis during the past few weeks. Around 80 Pakistanis died as boats carrying them sank close to Greece during the night of the 13-14th of December 2024.

One of the most tragic events, however, is the Greek boat accident, in which the fishing trawler that was laden with migrants sank on the Mediterranean Sea off Greece, which killed hundreds of people, including 262 Pakistanis, in 2023.