According to the United States (US), State Department’s Human Trafficking Report for 2018, the efforts by the Pakistani government, particularly the implementation of the national strategic framework (2015-2020) for trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling has put Pakistan’s ranking in tier 2.
The data published on a local media platform suggested that Pakistan was placed in the second tier in 2013, following which the country remained the third tier for the subsequent period.
Moreover, Punjab is the only province to report prosecutions in bonded labour cases, reporting 95% of investigations and prosecutions and 93% of convictions of total reported from the country.
Whereas compared to the increase in sex trafficking across provinces, the graph for convicts remained quite low. However, no sentences were reported for any of the convictions.
In other provinces, victim assistance and rehabilitation remained a domain of private sector initiatives and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The report recommends and emphasises training staff to distinguish between varying forms of trafficking and migrant smuggling and taking indiscriminate action against complicit officials. Under Section 369-A of Pakistan’s Penal Code evidence is required for force, fraud or coercion for a child sex trafficking offence in order to be registered, it is inconsistent with international laws on trafficking. Country’s law does not criminalise all forms of sex trafficking.
Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (PACHTO) and Bonded Labour System [Abolition] Act (BLSA) criminalise transnational sex and labour trafficking, migrant smuggling and fraudulent adoption, and bonded labour with stringent penalties respectively.
Under PACHTO, the government reported investigations against 90 alleged traffickers, prosecuting 53, and convicting 29 in 2017, compared with investigations against 98 alleged traffickers, prosecuting 60, and convicting 25 in 2016.
