Human trafficking, migrant smuggling: FIA with global counterparts to overcome growing challenges: DG

Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Akbar Khan Hoti on Tuesday expressed his organisation's strong willingness to engage with the international counterparts in overcoming the growing challenges posed by human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
He was speaking at the opening session of the UNODC's two-day Regional Conference on "Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling" in collaboration with FIA. The moot is aimed at enhancing regional co-operation related to irregular migration attempts. This high-level conference was a first of its kind in the region where source, transit and destination countries were present. UNODC Country Office in Pakistan presented the best international practices for improving border control mechanisms and building co-operative relationships for investigation, prosecution and protection of victims.
It aimed to further strengthen law enforcement co-operation in the region by bringing together officials to discuss emerging trends and patterns of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Senior Government Officials and representatives from 50 countries along with ten 10 Ambassadors and High Commissioners from Islamabad present at the conference.
During the opening session Cesar Guedes, Representative of UNODC Office in Pakistan mentioned that there are "2.4 million victims of human trafficking around the world at any given time, out of which 70 percent are women and young girls". He reminded the delegates that human trafficking and migrant smuggling remain most lucrative business generating over $32 billion in profits annually.