Analysis

Pakistan: The challenge of checking human-trafficking

Sohini Bose Pakistan is a major source, transit, as well as a destination country for forced labour and sex trafficking. Bonded labour is most prevalent in the country and is particularly concentrated in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab and also occurs in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Young children are often bought, sold, rented or kidnapped by the prevailing mafia organizations. Poor families are also often bribed to exchange their children for decent work and pay and families who are trapped in bonded labour also surrender their children when unable to repay loans. False adoption also often leads to trafficking. These children are often trafficked to the United Arab Emirates for camel jockeying. Women are also often sold in forced marriages and in some cases their husbands also sell them across the borders for the business of prostitution. Militants rampant in the country also often kidnap children for sexual abuse and use psychological coercion to convince the children that these acts are justified. There is also a structured system for exploiting women, girls, and LGBTI individuals in sex trafficking. The police have often been reported to accept bribes and ignore prostitution practices. The porous borders, the lax system of law and order and the technological advancement in communication has further aggravated the situation. As a result the country faces the risk of economic sanctions or suspension of financial aid from the international community. Accordingly, the Global Slavery Index report, compiled by the Australia based campaign, Walk Free Pakistan, has the third highest population of enslaved people in the world and is one of the primary sources of women trafficking. Moreover, a report by the US Department of State also stated that Pakistan has not undertaken sufficient measures to remedy the situation and human trafficking networks are steadily increasing within the country. The victims of trafficking often experience humiliation, depression and trauma.

Reasons for trafficking

There are several reasons behind why human trafficking is still so rampant in Pakistan. Official complicity: A major cause for this is official complicity in trafficking crimes. Because of this serious allegations of trafficking especially those regarding high-ranking diplomatic official have not been investigated. Therefore government protection efforts remain inconsistent. Inadequate law enforcement: Pakistan government’s law enforcement action on labour trafficking also remains inadequate compared with the scale of forced and bonded labour in Pakistan. In this regard it must be noted that the government’s lead reporting and coordinating entity on human trafficking continues to be the Federal Investigative Agency despite its statutorily limited jurisdiction on human trafficking. Formalities and bribes: Also bonded labourers who lack proper identity documents are unable to access government services, which include health care and food stipends. Therefore they sometimes assume more debt. In some cases, when bonded labourers attempted to escape or seek legal help the police often refuse to file cases and in some cases have also returned the labourers to the traffickers.  Source and Causes: Pakistan is also not a party to the 2000 UN Trafficking in Person Protocol. Pakistanis also often migrate to the Gulf countries and Europe for low-skilled employment where they often become victims of labour trafficking. False job offers and high recruitment fees by illegal labour agents often trap them into sex-trafficking or bonded labour. Foreign children and women are also very often trafficked in Pakistan. These people are particularly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Government initiatives

Offering hope in this dire situation, presently the Pakistan government making significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking from the country. More victims are now being identified and investigations are increasingly being made into sex trafficking. The states of Pakistan have also individually adopted measures to curb the problem of trafficking. For example, while the government of Punjab has increased investigations and convictions for bonded labour. The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has also adopted a law prohibiting bonded labour. On the other hand, the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have started operating two additional women shelters and three child protection units each. The Pakistan government is still trying to implement its 2015-2020 national strategic framework against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling but is yet to reach the minimum standards in several essential areas. The provincial governments also allocate resources for development based labour programs, some of which were specific to the prevention of bonded labour. The government has also increased victim identification but unfortunately demonstrated mixed efforts to protect and assist victims. The government also has Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the identification of trafficking victims within their respective departments but it is unknown how far such SOPs were disseminated and if officials regularly used SOPs for victim identification. The government has also reported sending victims to care through various agencies and at both the centre/federal and provincial level. Government-run shelters are available to women who are entangled in difficult situations which includes trafficking. The Pakistan government acknowledges this problem of trafficking that is prevalent in the country and has pledged to work with China to combat the issue. Apart from the government the civil society also provides victim services. To overcome such impediments, Pakistan must therefore increase prosecutions, pass an anti-trafficking law that criminalises all forms of human trafficking and assign penalties commensurate with other serious crimes such as rape. It must also invest in awareness raising, funding, and encouraging the creation of coordinated task forces. Lifting the ban on female migration will also help as it will discourage undocumented female migration through undocumented channels.

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India: A cycle of slander and accusations on people long gone

Ameya Kelkar The election cycle of 2019 has seen a lot of promises being made by the opposition parties, with the Congress coming out in full swing over their new Universal Income Scheme, while at the same time highlighting the broken promises of the incumbent government. However, the same cannot be said for the BJP, whose candidates have decided to take a very different approach to their campaigning strategy. While their election manifesto consists more of the same promises any political party makes, the BJP government has taken a decidedly firm stance on issues such as the Sabarimala case, which was resolved by the Supreme Court. This manifesto also focuses on many issues such as an annual pension scheme for farmers, promising to provide small and marginal farmers with an annual income of Rs. 6,000. However, while the political parties, in general, are campaigning on what they shall deliver if they be voted into power, what we are exposed to in newspapers and television channels is both parties going at each other’s throats, trying to defame the other through various schemes and claims of past wrongdoing. Two prominent examples of this are the AAP candidate Atishi Marlena being slandered, allegedly by the supporters of BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining about the excesses of the Nehru-Gandhi family, claiming that they used naval vessels to facilitate their travel during their vacations. While the claim of the usage of the INS Viraat has drawn former officials into the battle of proving or disproving the claim, these episodes highlight something far more wretched that is happening in the current battle for the Parliament. It has become clear that the BJP, in an effort to stoke anger against the Gandhi-Nehru family, has resorted to misusing history for their own political ends, instead of choosing to tackle the more pressing issues the voter is facing today.

Smokescreens

These tactics used by the BJP are nothing new. Both the 2014 and 2019 elections were a chance for the BJP to showcase its promises. The 2014 elections were a landslide victory for the BJP, who heavily campaigned on the idea of changing the lives of every Indian citizen, providing jobs, starting new schemes and initiatives for indigenous production, ensuring indigenous businesses thrive and so on. The 2014 manifesto was proof of the importance they gave to the development of the nation over their own religious priorities. While they did lambast the UPA for its failures in the prior decade, they chose to focus their attention on the idea that the problems they had not solved would be solved by them. This election cycle, however, has brought about a few clear points. The BJP has nothing to show for its five years in administration over a large part of India. Their rallies and local visits by recognizable party figures have not drawn the same level of support that had been drawn five years prior. Anupam Kher, an actor by profession and a BJP spokesperson, was at the receiving end of this when he promptly exited a grocery store upon being questioned on which promises were fulfilled by the government in the last five years. The same can be said for Smriti Irani, who during a rally in Madhya Pradesh, asked the crowd present whether the current government under the Congress Party had fulfilled their promises, only to be met with a wave of affirmation from the farmers present. These tactics, mainly aimed at defaming the opposition party, are a stark departure from their earlier campaigns in 2014, which were aimed at proving the ineffectiveness of the Congress and the UPA in providing steady development to the people of India.

Study in desperation

This type of slander based campaigning is, sadly, not new to this world. While other candidates in the past have always sought to dig up the past of their opponents to find anything which can give them the edge in the campaign process. However, what has also been stressed upon is the fact that the common man has been suffering and a change in governance is necessary to give the public the development they deserve. However, these tactics used by the BJP in 2019 are very reminiscent of another election campaign which had taken place three years earlier across the Atlantic Ocean. Elections-2016 saw the Democratic Party go head-to-head against Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the Office of the President of the United States. While Democrats like Bernie Sanders went by his usual message of lambasting the big banks and corporations and promising the provision of Medicare-For-All among others, the Trump Campaign was systematic in the usage of fear tactics and slander to keep highlighting the flaws of the Democrats and their eventual candidate, Hillary Clinton. Most of his campaign was dedicated to the idea that Clinton was a crook, as espoused by the chants of “Lock Her Up” at any of his rallies, among many other chants. What was missing from his campaign speeches was any concrete solution to America’s problems and any steps the administration would take should he come to power. This style of campaigning, relying more on slander rather than on policy, is emblematic of a desperate attempt by a party to keep slinging proverbial mud on their opponent with the hope that the public would be too busy complaining about the mud rather than providing actual solutions to the problems ailing American society. This style proved successful for Trump as he currently sits in the Oval Office. The public must therefore be enabled to see beyond the mudslinging of the BJP and ask them the real questions: what promises have you fulfilled? What promises are you going to fulfil? Will the next five years be any worse or better as compared to the previous five? While Anupam Kher walked out of a grocery store over these questions, the public must keep demanding answers to these very simple and basic campaign questions any politician worth his or her salt, irrespective of party, must be able to answer.

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Country Reports

Afghanistan

Explosion at NGO

Taliban militants have detonated explosives in the compound of an international organisation located close to the Attorney General’s Office in the Shahr-e-Naw area of Kabul. The security officials affirmed that after the explosion a standoff was underway between the armed forces and the insurgents. Nasrat Rahimi a spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior stated that rescue operations were carefully conducted to eliminate the militants. A vehicle borne improvised explosive device left behind by the militants was also found.

US presence ‘must’

Speaking in the context of Afghanistan, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford has recently stated that the US needs to maintain a counter-terrorism force in Afghanistan as long as insurgency continues in it. This remark comes as peace talks are underway between the US and the Taliban in Doha with the latter reiterating that complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is necessary if not mandatory if peace proceeding are to make any headway.

Bangladesh

Fani wrecks havoc

At least 15 persons lost their lives and thousands of thatched houses were ruined as Cyclone Fani tore the country earlier in the week. The cyclone was one of the severe summer cyclones in the 126 years in the Bay of Bengal region. Millions of people were evacuated from the coastal areas to mitigate the risk of the cyclone.

IS suspect held

Security agencies arrested a suspected member of the international militant organisation Islamic State this week. The arrestee is claimed to have returned to the country after fighting in Syria. Motaj Abdul Majid Kafiluddin Bepari, the IS member, travelled to the war-torn country from Saudi Arabia to join the militant organisation. Additionally, the security agencies claimed that he was born in Saudi Arabia to a Bangladeshi parent. Bepari's arrest followed counter-terrorism agencies’ alert to airport authorities about the possible return of around 50 Bangladesh-origin IS extremists into the country.

Bhutan

Fani claims eight

The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) under Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (MOHCA) said that heavy rainfall and windstorm from Cyclone Fani led to roadblocks and landslides, damage of crops and Chortens and a bus accident where eight people, four male and four female, lost their lives. Fani was predicted to cause heavy rainfall in Bhutan on 4 and 5 May. The last major Bay of Bengal cyclone that affected Bhutan was Cyclone Aila in 2009.

Power unit tested

A unit of the 720-MW Mangdechhu Hydro-Power project has successfully been tested, while a temporary arrangement has been made to evacuate power to India using the transmission line of Punatshangchhu I and II. This temporary arrangement was warranted because a part of the transmission line passes through the Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam state of India.

Fund to end animal conflict

The agriculture ministry has written to the finance ministry to release Nu 16 million for the establishment of a human wildlife conflict (HWC) endowment fund that it expects to begin from next year. Agriculture minister Yeshey Penjor said the ministry is in consultation with the European Union seeking financial support to establish the endowment fund. The fund would serve as seed money and compensations to crop or livestock losses paid from its interest.

India

More time for Ayodhya mediation

The five judge Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, has decided to allow more time to the Court appointed mediation committee to come to a reasoned and thought-out decision on the Ayodhya dispute. The CJI stated that for a case such as this, the panel does not want to rush to any judgment nor short circuit the mediation process and will provide the panel with more time should it be required. The CJI has also opined that the media should refrain from reporting on the proceedings of the mediation until a decision is reached.

Funds-misuse denied

The Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog has replied to the Election Commission, denying the charge levied by the Congress Party that the BJP government misused government machinery, using the government sponsored think tank in the collection of data related to the demographics of the areas where the Prime Minister was holding rallies. The Election Commission is yet to reply to this denial, but has previously expressed its displeasure at the remarks of the Vice-Chairman of the think tank regarding the Congress’ NYAY scheme.

Maldives

‘Screen’ preachers: Nasheed

Former President and ruling MDP head, Mohammed Nasheed, has tweeted for screening Islamic preachers coming into Maldives, even as Defence Minister Mariya Didi told the Indian newspaper, The Hindu, that the security forces were working towards upgrading their efforts and processes against the rising trend of Islamic radicalism in the country reaching terrorist-proportions. Citing figures collected from families, by the National Counter-terrorism Centre on Maldivians who had joined the ISIS overseas, Minister Didi put their numbers at 69, of whom some had taken their wife and children.

Myanmar

Work on for China rail-link

The construction of a tunnel along a section of the China-Myanmar international railway is underway in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Dalin (Dali-Lincang) railway project department of the Railway No. 10 Engineering Group Co. Ltd stated that, so far, more than 3,700 metres of the tunnel has been excavated. The Dali-Lincang Railway, with a length of 202 km and a designed speed of 160 km per hour, is a key section of the China-Myanmar international railway. It is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in 2021.

Call for new probe

Rights activists and religious leaders have expressed deep concern that a Myanmar military investigative team probing last week’s shooting-deaths of civilians held in custody in Rakhine state’s Kyauk Tan village will be impartial. They have asked the Myanmar government to appoint independent inspectors to investigate the incident that left six people dead and eight wounded as they were being questioned about possible connections to the Arakan Army (AA) which is fighting for greater autonomy in the state.

Nepal

Media control on

The government of Nepal has introduced a very strict jurisdiction over the media, levying a penalty of Rs 1 million, if behaved against the ‘media code of conduct’.  The media council will now remain monitored by the government. This step may be signifying a new façade of the Nepali government, which might have within itself the seeds of dictatorship.

Pre-budget talks

A pre-budget session was organised by the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives in Kathmandu. The participants primarily included law-makers, industrialists, economists and the like, leading to the submission of a 61-point recommendation letter. Utilisation of available resources which would form ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ was given out as the reason for the conclave.

Trade-deficit up

The country must take note of its growing trade deficit, which has widened by 21.42 per cent in the current fiscal year. The statistics has been reported by the Department of Customs. The imports to export ratio has now reached 15.2 in the review period, from 14.6 at the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2017/18. The crux of this data is that Nepal has been importing 15.2 times more than what it exports.

Pakistan

India talks unlikely

Although the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Sushma Swaraj respectively, will be present at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s ministerial meeting that is scheduled to be held later this month , chances are remote that there will be a formal bilateral meeting between them on the sidelines. It is also to be noted that the foreign ministers of both the countries have not met in the past three years and the situation is tense.

Boost for Malaysia ties

The Malaysian High Commissioner Ikram Mohammad Ibrahim stated that the recent visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammad to Islamabad has given the much-needed push to the bilateral ties. Consequently, there will be increased governmental and private sector engagements, especially in the sector of economic cooperation, keeping in mind that both countries are participants of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Malaysia is already the third largest foreign investor in Pakistan.

Sri Lanka

Rumours spark tensions

Weeks after the Easter blasts that claimed over 250 lives, rumours and minor episodes continue to spark tension and riots, especially against local Muslims, in towns such as Negombo and Chilaw, leading to overnight imposition of curfew and tightened security. Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith also regretted that the Government did not heed his suggestion to close liquor shops in Negombo, 50 km from Colombo, which witnessed the single largest blasts toll, even after drunken brawls over the Easter Day episode had sparked riots earlier in the week.

Bibliography

Afghanistan

Opinion Pieces

Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Rod Nordland, “Taliban Open New Front Against Aid Workers While Talking Peace”, The New York Times, 9 May 2019 Mohammad Zahir Akbari, “The Necessity of the Day: Decisiveness against Terrorism”, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, 8 May 2019

Editorials

Daily Outlook Afghanistan, “Why Diversity Matters in Public Service”, 8 May 2019 Daily Outlook Afghanistan, “China-style Counter-terrorism Strategy Will Lead to Peace”, 7 May 2019

Bangladesh

Opinion Pieces

Austin Bodetti, “Bangladesh’s China-India Balance”, The Diplomat, 6 May 2018 Selim Raihan, “Prioritise investment in human capital”, The Daily Star, 10 May 2019 Shakirul Islam, “Social security for migrant workers: Some suggestions”, The Daily Star, 9 May 2019

Bhutan

Editorials

The Bhutanese, “Corruption in awarding tenders”, 7 May 2019

India

Opinion Pieces

Aatish Taseer, “Can The World’s Largest Democracy Endure Another Five Years of a Modi Government?”, Time, 9 May 2019 Suresh Menon, “The Conflict Is Real, But It Might Do No Harm: BCCI Must Choose Wisely”, The Hindu, 7 May 2019 Soumya Shankar, “India’s Liberal Expats Are Modi’s Biggest Fans”, Foreign Policy, 7 May 2019 Milan Vaishnav, “The Battle For India’s Soul”, Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2019

Maldives 

Opinion Pieces

N Sathiya Moorthy, “Yameen’s dilemma”, www.orfonline.org, 7 May 2019

Myanmar

Opinion Pieces

Maggi Quadrini, “Women’s Participation in Politics Undermined by the NLD”, The Irrawaddy, 9 May 2019 Nan Lwin, “Opposition to Myitsone Dam Will Be Outgoing Chinese Ambassador’s Chief Legacy”, The Irrawaddy, 8 May 2019 Lin Tun, “A Renewable Vision for Myanmar”, The Irrawaddy, 8 May 2019 Nan Lwin, “Second BRI Forum Roundup—How Myanmar Fares”, The Irrawaddy, 6 May 2019

Editorials

The Irrawaddy, “Amnesty Sends Positive Signals for Press Freedom, Reconciliation”, 8 May 2019

Nepal

Opinion Pieces

Dharma Adhikari and Juyan Zhang, “Branding Buddha’s birthplace”, Republica, 8 May 2019 Lok Raj Baral, “Communism and Nepal”, The Kathmandu Post, 10 May 2019 Ram Kumar Bhandari, “Time to intervene”, Republica, 8 May 2019

Editorials

The Kathmandu Post, “Perverse situation”, 9 May 2019 The Himalayan Times, “Ensure basic wages”, 10 May 2019

Pakistan

Opinion Pieces

Asha’ar Rehman, “Parties within parties”, Dawn, 10 May 2019 Syed Mohammad Ali, “Naya Pakistan with the same old political economy”, The Express Tribune, 10 May 2019

Editorials

Dawn, “Opposition in hibernation?”, 10 May 2019 The Express Tribune, “On verge of IMF deal”, 10 May 2019

Sri Lanka

Opinion Pieces

Kumar David, “Muslim people must take down the jihadists”, The Island, 12 May 2019 Gnana Moonesinghe, “Exhale Easter week horrors, inhale Nation in unity”, The Island, 12 May 2019 Harim Peiris, “Moving beyond Easter carnage”, The Island, 10 May 2019 M S M Ayub, “Identifying the killer ideology”, Daily Mirror Online, 10 May 2019 Ameen Izzadeen, “Mainstream Muslims must unite to bring about a progressive Islam”, Daily Mirror Online, 10 May 2019 Ranga Jayasuriya, “Easter Sunday carnage: Intelligence failure and how to fix it...”, Daily Mirror Online, 10 May 2019 Jehan Perera, “Engagement is the price of reconciliation”, The Island, 7 May 2019 N Sathiya Moorthy, “Shooting in the sky to escape the blasts”, Ceylon Today, 7 May 2019 N Sathiya Moorthy, “Where from here the blasts-probe?”, Colombo Gazette, 6 May 2019

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Contributors

Afghanistan & Pakistan: Sohini Bose Bangladesh: Joyeeta Bhattacharjee Bhutan: Mihir Bhonsale India: Ameya Kelkar Maldives & Sri Lanka: N Sathiya Moorthy Myanmar: Sreeparna Banerjee Nepal: Sohini Nayak

• International Affairs
• Domestic Politics and Governance
• Neighbourhood
• Elections 2019
• human trafficking
• Pakistan
• South Asia Weekly

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