ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that the practice of women trafficking to Afghanistan based on fake documents has stopped, a local media outlet reported.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had directed the FIA in July to bust groups involved in women trafficking.
The FIA in its report informed the court that action was underway against groups involved in the crime. The Supreme Court admitted the report and wrapped up the case.
In July, the bench heard a case pertaining to trafficking of women to Afghanistan. FIA’s director general had informed the court about the steps being taken for recovery of women trafficked to Afghanistan.
In May 2017, two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officials were arrested and formally charged by the FIA for their involvement in the illegal trafficking of three Afghan women, who were caught using fake boarding passes to board a UK-bound flight from Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport.
An FIA-lead initial investigation into activities of the five arrested subsequently unearthed a sizable human trafficking network. The ringleader of the group was also identified by the FIA.
During the investigation, the arrested Afghan women shared that they had paid $20,000 in Kabul as a fee for being trafficked to London.
According to reports, Pakistan is a key route for global human trafficking networks. The Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (PCHTO) was promulgated in October 2002, before which there was no adequate law to tackle with the menace of human trafficking.
There are roughly 90 ‘wanted’ human traffickers on the FIA’s watch list at present.
