Cases of kidnapping, human trafficking increasing in Pakistan, SC told

KARACHI: President of Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) and founder of the Madadgaar National Helpline, Advocate Zia Ahmed Awan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the increasing cases of disappearances, human trafficking, kidnappings, beggars and street children in the country.

The petition names 37 respondents including the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination, Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Interior, National Database and Registration Authority [NADRA], Ministry of Human Rights, National Commission on Human Rights, Federal Investigation Agency, the home departments of all four provinces and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to name a few.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Awan said cases of disappearance, human trafficking, kidnappings, beggars and street children have been rapidly increasing throughout Pakistan, which is a matter of great mental pain for people. He added that the efficiency of the respondents is very poor and they have bitterly failed to take preventive measures against the culprits involved or to rescue citizens involved in such cases, which requires immediate intervention by the court.

Cases rose in 2016, compared to 2015 and are continuously on the rise, said Awan, adding that the number of reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg. The lawyer said there is no available at a provincial level to provide any relief to victims’ families and take punitive action against the culprits.

“Pakistan signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990 and is bound to take measures for the protection of children, specifically children in difficult circumstances, and has a mandate to enact new laws and supporting mechanisms,” explained Awan.

He also stated in the petition that the respondents have responsibilities to implement laws and take legislative, administrative and operational measures to curb crimes against woman and children but have failed to create a mechanism for inter-provincial coordination under the existing laws, policies as well as the UN Conventions.

According to him, beggars and street children are the most vulnerable to intercity or inter-provincial trafficking and once a child is trafficked he or she becomes very difficult to put back on the right track, as there is no coordination or mechanism among the provincial authorities.

“Not a single respondent has composite national or regional data of missing, kidnapped, trafficked people or street children. The government does not even have a support mechanism for acquiring information from different sources to strengthen efforts to recover the children,” Awan reiterated.

He said after the passage of the 18th Amendment the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination, despite having a budget and secretariat for the implementation, has made little progress in establishing inter-provincial coordination.

Quoting several research papers, the petitioner suggested that over a million children are on the streets in Pakistan but the respondents have failed to identify and register them or provide their rights to protection, education, health and citizenship.

According to the petitioner, NADRA is responsible for registering and maintaining the citizens of Pakistan from their birth till they reach the age of majority but has failed to do so as according to the UNICEF Progress Report on Birth Registration 2013 – 2015, which stated that 66% of births in Pakistan go unregistered.

Awan demanded in his petition that the respondents submit their output, mechanism for rehabilitation and strategies to deal with disappearances, trafficking, kidnappings, beggars and street children to the court. He further prayed to the court to direct the interior ministry to make sure such citizens are registered and submit the details of the funds required for their rehabilitation.

The petitioner plead to the court to summon details of reporting of such cases with regard to international treaties, protocols and convention recommendations of the UN CRC committee, which is mandatory for ratifying governments every four years. Awan also mentioned the necessity to disclose details of shelter homes working in the federal capital and different cities of provinces in his plea.

He requested the court to arrange national-level information management, child tracking and reunification mechanisms and direct the respondents to devise and implement provincial action plans to materialise child rights and create strategies for achieving the goals.

Source: The Express Tribune