EDITORIAL: It’s been a while since the Parliament passed “Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act, 2018.” Yet people smuggling goes on undeterred. Just last February several Pakistanis, including a prominent female footballer, aboard an ill-fated boat headed to Europe, perished at sea. In June, another nearly 400 Pakistanis lost their lives when an overcrowded fishing trawler carrying them to greener pastures capsized off the coast of Greece. Only 12 of them survived to tell the tale of the suffering endured during the perilous voyage. While the sheer scale of tragedy shocked the nation the government declared a day of mourning.
Now at least 385 Pakistanis held in a human trafficker’s warehouse have been recovered along with many others, including 11 children, some less than 10 years old, in a law enforcement raid near the coastal city of Tobruk in north-eastern Libya. A video posted on a social media platform shows them sitting on the ground as aid workers distribute food and drink.
The caption says they had not eaten for three days and lacked access to basic necessities — like those aboard the Greece-bound boat. They have been moved to a facility in another city from where they are likely to be deported soon. It is quite possible that they left home before the June boat disaster. As per the aforementioned law, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has the responsibility to probe any offence pertaining to illegal migrants.
And aggravated offences carry imprisonment up to 14 years and fine up to Rs 2 million. So far, save for arresting a few minor recruitment agents no big organiser of this criminal racket has been held to account by the FIA. It may be recalled that when the hurt from the boat disaster was too raw, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a high-level committee to ascertain the facts and identify the loopholes in the enforcement mechanism. The committee was to make both short- and long-term recommendations to deal with the problem. Outcome of its deliberations is yet to be known.
Indeed, the issue is not peculiar to Pakistan. Each year thousands of economic migrants from this region as well as African countries embark on daunting journeys. According to UN’s International Organisation for Migration, at least 1,999 migrants died between January 1 and June 26 of this year while trying to reach Europe by sea. In the same period last year 1,358 died.
Still, more are on the way. Considering people smugglers have global connections, Pakistan needs to seek international cooperation. But as a famous Chinese proverb goes ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ the first step potential migrants take inside this country ought to be stopped in its tracks. It is hard to believe that the police or FIA are unaware of the people involved in this illegal and immoral business. They have little to show for their efforts. Nothing will change as long as the kingpins of this criminal enterprise remain untouched.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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