Lahore (Pakistan) September 2 : The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for urgent attention to the rights violations endured by those resorting to enter abroad through illegal routes, and added that most victims are often subjected to torture, extortion, abuses, blackmail, imprisonment, and even death.
The report seeks to conceptualize 'human smuggling' as a grave violation of human rights rather than as an offence related to transnational crime.
Currently, there is a strong economic crisis going on in Pakistan that has forced many especially youth into looking for options abroad through illegal routes known as "dunki."
The term comes from a Punjabi idiom for going somewhere by jumping/leaping across like a donkey, the illegal way.
According to the report, up to 100,000 Pakistanis attempt to leave the country every year in search of better economic opportunities abroad, with Quetta becoming the favourable option for migrants to attempt the Dunki route.
Considering the involved variables and complexities, it is quite difficult to present an exact figure, but considering the situation, it's plausible to assume that approximately 80,000 to 100,000 irregular migrants leave Pakistan every year.
The report also points out that irregular migrants trying to risk this highly dangerous journey from Punjab to Turkey-through land via Balochistan and Iran-are ruled by unemployment, lack of opportunities, poverty, insecurity, and conflict. Human smugglers in Pakistan are also overly capable of exploiting the vulnerabilities of individuals and convincing them to embark on dangerous journeys.
The report mentioned that human smuggling networks in Pakistan function in an extremely organized and structured way, similar to criminal enterprises. Many such networks are self-perpetuating; as most former migrants turn into human smugglers themselves.
The HRCP has called for the signing and ratification by Pakistan of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. Secondly, migrant-destination countries must uphold the rights of irregular migrants.
The Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act 2018 needs to be reviewed for amendments so that such abuses can be more effectively dealt with, which are suffered at both pre-and post-journey levels through a more human rights-based approach.
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