ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel was told that Pakistan has been on the US State Department’s watch list for human trafficking as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confessed that it had been unable to curb the nuisance of human trafficking in the country because its capacity was lacking in this regard, according to a report by a private media outlet.
FIA’s Director Interpol Tariq Malik stated before the sub-committee of the National Assembly (NA)’s Standing Committee on Interior, that the FIA lacked proper mechanism and even if the authority to curtail human smuggling within the country was given to FIA, it would be an uphill task.
An official of the Interior Ministry also told the NA panel, which was chaired by Nawab Yousaf Talpur, that the FIA has no jurisdictional authority in the provinces and that it only looks into human smuggling and trafficking carried outside of Pakistan.
The committee also discussed the role of International Centre for Migration Policy Development and how they have been able to curb the menace of human smuggling.