Pakistan (see also Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, India)

Human smugglers nabbed

A raid by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) led to the arrest of four most wanted human smugglers; the raid also seized 23 passports. Rauf Ahmad, nazim of a union council in Sialkot district, was running a travel agency and sending people abroad on forged documents, said Gujranwala Passport Cell Additional Director Hussain Asghar. The team also arrested Akhlaq Ahmad from Naushera Virkan, Muhammad Yahya from Gujrat and Saifullah from Qila Dedar Singh. They were accused of smuggling people to Greece and Turkey and wanted for the last couple of years.

Govt urged to curb human smuggling

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has condemned the government for its failure to stop human smuggling from Pakistan to other countries. Nasir Khan, ICCI president, urged the government to take proper measures to stop the practice. Unemployment and poverty are blamed as the major factors that compelled people to use illegal ways to migrate to other countries.

Campaign vs. trafficking

The Citizen Action Committee (CAC) Mardan, in collaboration with the Swabi Samaji Behbood Council, will launch a campaign against women trafficking in the district. Aurat Foundation coordinator Sakhawat Shah noted a rise in the trafficking of women in the district. He added that traffickers deceived poor parents in the rural areas by promising a bright future for their girls, who are later sold in Punjab. He called on the authorities concerned to take action on a resolution passed by the district council. He alleged that the CAC provided a list of 16 people involved in the crime to the district police officer, but no action was taken. 

Govt urged to locate missing Pakistani sailors

At least seven Pakistani seafarers, including a captain and a chief engineer, who were sailing off the African coast in two ships, have been missing for over two months. Captain Khalid Slah Siddiqui and Chief Engineer Zafar Iqbal were sailing on M.V. Reef Azania with four Indian and eight Tanzanian crewmen. The last contact they had with their family members was on 24 June. The second missing ship (M.V. Infinity Marine) had five Pakistani sailors on board, along with 16 Indian and a Bangladeshi. The last communication made with their families was in the first week of June. The sailors' union suspects they have been captured by pirates. However, the Pakistani government has done little to locate them.

Pakistan willing to deploy more workers to Brunei

Pakistan has expressed its willingness to send more workers to Brunei. Minister for Labor, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who is on a two-day official visit to Brunei, said Pakistan has taken concrete steps to train its workers. There are more than 1,000 Pakistanis working in Brunei.

Remittances up

Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis continue to rise. Pakistan received US$495.69 million in July, up 31.48 percent or US$118.68 million from the same month last year. The largest source countries of remittances are the US (US$127.99 million), Saudi Arabia (US$106.55 million), UAE (US$77.35 million), other GCC countries (US$70.3 million ), UK (US$39.5 million),  and EU countries (US$14.81 million). 

UNHCR appeals to postpone camp closure

The UNHCR has appealed to the government to postpone the closure of Jalozai camp in North West Frontier Province – one of the largest Afghan refugee camps. It said the exodus of more than 100,000 Afghans from the camp could trigger a humanitarian crisis. However, the Pakistani government said the voluntary repatriation of the refugees will be underway and the Jalozai camp will be closed in accordance with the 31 August deadline. Under a tripartite agreement signed on 2 August, the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UNHCR agreed that repatriation should be "voluntary and gradual." They also agreed that the closure of four camps should take into account Afghanistan's "security conditions and absorption capacity."  

Sources: "Remittances up 31.48% in July 2007," Daily Times, 18 August 2007; "Govt asked to check human smuggling," DAWN, 20 August 2007; APP, "Pakistan urges Brunei to import more workers," The Daily Star, 21 August 2007; "Mardan: Campaign against women trafficking planned," DAWN, 22 August 2007; Reuters, "UN refugee plea to Pakistan," The Peninsula, 23 August 2007; "Human smugglers held," DAWN, 26 August 2007; Bhagwandas, "'Captured' seafarers await govt help," DAWN, 28 August 2007; Zulfiqar Ali, "UNHCR plea on refugees turned down: officials," DAWN, 29 August 2007; "UN issues Pakistan refugee appeal," BBC News, 30 August 2007