Trafficking minors to Middle East!

15 teenage girls still in detention from where the victim escaped

KARACHI: A gang of human traffickers is likely to be involved in the trafficking of minor Pakistani girls to the Middle East, it was revealed during a hearing of the bail application at the Sindh High Court (SHC) of Adnan Shabbir who was charged with forcefully marrying a 14-year-old girl.

The parents of the girl named Muskan had lodged a case of their daughter’s alleged kidnapping a few months ago. According to them, the girl was tricked into leaving her home by a woman named Sonia through social media and was later forced to marry Adnan Shabbir.

In her statement before the judicial magistrate, Muskan said that Sonia had tricked her into leaving home to meet her. According to Muskan, she was later detained at some unknown place. “After a few days, I was handed over to some other people who handed me over to another woman Riffat,” she added.

Muskan also revealed that there were some 15 teenage girls kept in detention from where she managed to escape.

The accused Adnan Shabbir had approached the SHC after the rejection of his bail from the trial court earlier. In this connection, the accused informed Justice Salahuddin Panhwar of the SHC that he had been working in Oman for the last many years and came in contact with Sonia on social media.

According to him, the social media friendship eventually turned into love, and a couple of months ago he visited Karachi to marry her. He categorically denied marrying Muskan, who was also present with her mother during the court proceedings. The applicant stated that he had arrived from Oman to marry Sonia and the Nikahnama (legal marriage document) was signed at the City Court.

Even in the courtroom, the applicant did not identify the victim Muskan. The victim also did not make any direct allegation, about marriage or attempted rape, against the applicant. However, the court noted that the case needed to be investigated by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

Observing that since the minor girl Muskan, a student in Grade 10th, was kidnapped and sold at three different places, the court issued a notice to the deputy attorney general in this regard.

Quoting the statement of the victim that she found fifteen teenage girls in detention at the house of Riffat, who is also nominated in the case, Justice Panhwar directed the Federal Interior Ministry to constitute a JIT comprising officers dealing with human trafficking. The judge also directed the provincial Home Department to constitute a separate JIT to probe the issue of human trafficking, particularly regarding minors.

The court noted that the inaction of law enforcement agencies is evident as the abducted person herself escaped from the captivity of the accused persons and reached home. Justice Panhwar further directed that the JIT should be headed by the SSP City, who must be present before the court on the next hearing along with the progress report. A representative from the Federal Investigation Agency relating to the human trafficking branch was also sought by the court to be present at the court on the next hearing.

The judge also directed the authorities not to harass the victim and her family and if any further investigation is required from her, a female officer shall be deputed to record statements at the victim’s residence.

The counsel for the applicant was also directed by Sindh’s apex court to submit his affidavit to be sworn at the verification branch of the High Court. The further hearing of the case was deferred till January 9, 2023.