Senate toughens laws against human trafficking, organised begging abroad

• Legislation proposes sentence for human trafficking to 7 to 10 years.
• Another bill suggests fine of up to Rs10m for smuggling of migrants.
•  Emigration (Amendment) Bill provisions "mandatory" imprisonment.
  

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of increasing migrant boat capsizing incidents and recent complaints of Pakistanis being involved in begging abroad, the government has tweaked existing laws to tighten the noose and address various issues pertaining to both key matters, The News reported on Saturday.

The Senate, on Friday, unanimously passed the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (Amendment) Bill, the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Bill and the Emigration (Amendment) Bill moved by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The proposed pieces of legislation have already been cleared by the House standing committee concerned, which will also help stop smuggling of young girls for prostitution and beggars into the Gulf States.

The development comes following dozens of casualties of Pakistanis in recent months due to boat capsizing incidents as they attempted to reach Europe via human traffickers — which has prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to direct stern action against human smugglers and officials involved in facilitating them.

Meanwhile, the amendments to the existing laws also relate to another separate issue of Pakistanis' involvement in begging in various countries abroad as confirmed by Secretary Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development during a Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development in July 2024.

In November 2024, the government went on to put the names of 4,300 beggars on the Exit Control List (ECL) following a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Saudi Arabia's Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmed Al Maliki.

Hundreds of Pakistanis have been deported in recent weeks from gulf countries due to issues ranging from irregularities in documentation, failure to insufficient travel funds, procedural shortcomings, involvement in crimes and begging, among other issues.

Speaking on the Senate floor a day earlier, Law Minister Tarar said the recent boat tragedies, killing several illegal immigrant Pakistanis had again awakened them to stop this menace.

He said the Ministry of Interior had proposed certain amendments to the laws to stop human trafficking and smuggling of girls and beggars from Pakistan abroad after consulting with the stakeholders.

He continued that the gangs that were exporting — "smuggling" — beggars were tarnishing the image of Pakistan in foreign countries and also pointed out that unfortunately, young girls were being smuggled for illicit purposes.

The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (Amendment) Bill, passed by the House, seeks to amend the Trafficking in Persons Act 2018 to incorporate organised beggary in the list of offences.

The legislation suggests enhancing the sentence for the offence of trafficking in persons from three to seven years and from seven to 10 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs1 million, whereas the proposed sentence for the crime committed against children and women is 14 years and a fine of up to Rs2 million.

It points out that the diplomatic missions of Pakistan in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Iraq and Malaysia had highlighted that some Pakistanis who come to these countries for Hajj, Umrah, Ziarat and personal visits were found involved in beggary. They have urged Pakistani authorities to take a stern action against those involved in begging and the gangs behind them.

"The agents and gangs involved in this practice easily dodge prosecution as beggary is not a crime in any law entrusted to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The sensitivity of the issue demands the urgent need for making beggary a crime," it reads.

The Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Bill proposes to increase the punishment for those engaged in smuggling of migrants to up to 10 years imprisonment from five years and a fine of up to Rs10 million from Rs1 million.

The bill also proposes increase in sentence from up to three years but not less than one year and a fine of Rs1 million to up to 10 years but not less than three years and a fine of up to Rs5 million.

It proposes enhancement in punishment for those who harbour or intend to harbour a person who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Pakistan and does not comply with the necessary requirements to remain in Pakistan.

The punishment for such individuals has been proposed to be increased from up to three years to up to five years imprisonment, with doubling the upper limit of fine to Rs2 million.

Furthermore, the Senate also approved the Emigration (Amendment) Bill seeking to amend the Emigration Ordinance to do away with the courts’ powers to let go culprits by imposing just a minor fine.

The amendment proposes to make imprisonment mandatory along with the fine, which has been increased to Rs 1 million.

The members can submit their recommendations related to the bill to the Senate Secretariat by Monday when the House is set to meet again after the session being adjourned due to lack of quorum.

The House was adjourned to meet again Monday afternoon, after it was found lacking quorum.