A noted Pakist lawyer and activist has lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government for not acting against the Chinese men who are marrying and forcing Pakist girls into prostitution.
While speaking in a discussion with journalist Tahir Gora on TAG TV, Rahat John Austin said Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is ignoring the gruesome fact by calling it a foreign conspiracy.
Austin said, "Shah Mahmood Qureshi calls it a foreign agenda. This is a conspiracy against Pakistan-China Strategic partnership. He must feel ashamed that besides helping the victims, he is ignoring the tragic issue".
More than 600 poor Pakist girls and women were sold as brides to Chinese men over a period of nearly two years, according to investigations by authorities in Pakistan, which has a population of some 200 million people.
Rahat John Austin denies the official figures and said that the number is much higher. He recalls the first incident which came to notice over three years ago.
He said, "The first case came to notice in 2016 by Saleem Iqbal, a journalist and activist, of a Christian girl who openly revealed how she has been forced into prostitution. She was forced to eat food which was not suitable for human consumption. Since it was the first such incident so nobody took it seriously".
"Some journalists tried to highlight it, but they faced massive backlash which is unimaginable. We were accused of being tarnishing Pakistan-China relations and CPEC project. People blame us that if there is a Hindu then he is a spy of India. And if any Christian is there, then he is working or spying for Israel or America. Many activists were accused of creating a roadblock to Pakistan's progress", said Rahat to a TV debate.
In October, a court in Faisalabad acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with trafficking.
Several of the women who had initially been interviewed by police refused to testify because they were either threatened or bribed into silence, according to a court official and a police investigator familiar with the case.
Rahat John Austin said, "Even Muslims girls of 13 years of age are now forced to get married to a 50-year-old Chinese man. They not only marry these girls but allow other Chinese men to have physical relations with the girl. As soon as these girls reach China after marriage, their passports are confiscated. These girls are then forced into prostitution".
He added, "Human trafficking is the world's most profitable business. In this, the Mullah, a Padri (Bishop), government officials, security agencies and politicians - everyone is involved. How can it be possible, that mass marriages are happening across Pakistan and no one is noticing? Those who were arrested in few of the incidents have been released. Some victims and their family members tried to approach the police, but the police threatened them in spite of helping them".
( With inputs from ANI )