The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday arrested eight Chinese men involved in trafficking Pakistani girls to China for the purpose of selling them into prostitution.
According to the details, the men who were arrested during a crackdown launched across Punjab were trafficking Pakistani girls under the guise of marriage and forcing them into prostitution on reaching China.
Those arrested include Wang Hao, Shoi Sheli, Wong Yhazou, Chang Shail Rai, Pan Khowajay, Wang Bao, Zaothi and Kaindisko; taking the total number of arrests in this connection to 10 so far.
It is pertinent to mention here that the suspect Chang Shail Rai was arrested in the middle of a wedding ceremony in Faisalabad where he was about to marry another girl during an intelligence-based operation of the FIA.
Zahid, a Christian father; Kashif, a matchmaking agent; Mendes, a Chinese woman; and others were also taken into custody in the raid. They made fake documents of Chinese men showing them either as Christians or Muslims.
Reports of the fake marriages had surfaced from Lahore and parts of Southern Punjab earlier last month. Some reports also claimed that organs of the women were also sold in China.
Responding to the reports, the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement after a female lawmaker voiced her concerns over the issue in parliament denying the reports of illegal organ selling; however, it cautioned against unlawful matchmaking centres involved in these marriages to earn a profit.
“We notice that recently some unlawful matchmaking centres made illegal profits from brokering cross-national marriages. Both Chinese and Pakistani youths are victims of these illegal agents. Chinese laws and regulations strictly prohibit cross-national matchmaking centres,” the statement said.
It further said no individual is allowed to engage in any form of such activity by deception or for profit. The Chinese government also strictly prohibits any organisation or individual from buying or selling human organs in any form or engaging in such activities. For those who constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.
China is cooperating with Pakistani law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal matchmaking centres. We remind both Chinese and Pakistani citizens to remain vigilant and not to be cheated. We also welcome valuable clues to combat such offences. At the same time, it is hoped that reports should be based on the facts. We hope that the public does not believe in misleading information and work together to safeguard China-Pakistan friendship.