The recent dismissal of 35 officers from Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for their complicity in a human trafficking case has shone a light on a serious problem facing not only the country and South Asia, but the Mediterranean and Europe as well. A statement issued on New Years Day by the FIA announced that these officers had been sacked for their role in a migrant boat tragedy off the coast of the Greek island of Gavdos in mid-December. At least five migrants drowned after the wooden boat they had used to sail from Libya capsized in the Mediterranean, while 39 others were recovered by nearby cargo vessels.
The majority of those rescued were Pakistani citizens, leading to an internal investigation into the potential involvement of FIA personnel working at major exit points in the country, including airports in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Lahore, Islamabad, and Quetta. The result of this inquiry has raised serious questions about the role Pakistani authorities and institutions are playing in global cases of human trafficking, with the issue coming to the direct attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Gavdos, an island just south of Greece’s largest island of Crete, has become a crucial gateway for migrants hoping to enter Europe. In one case in 2023, 262 Pakistanis died while attempting to reach the island in a tragedy similar to the one in December last year. This latest crossing was one of three attempted in the same week, all of which the Hellenic Coast Guard believes set sail from Libya.
If true, it points to a sophisticated trafficking network with a route originating in Pakistan, travelling through North Africa, and arriving in Europe by sea. It also raises the prospect of complicity by officials in both Pakistan and Libya. Initial arrests have also revealed how lucrative these operations can prove to be, with two suspects extorting over $25,000 from just three of the victims of the tragedy.
This news came shortly after the United Nations published a new report into global human trafficking, which revealed a 25 percent increase in the number of victims worldwide in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The report highlighted South Asia as a hub for trafficking, with victims from the region found in 36 countries throughout the world. The majority were women or children trafficked either for sexual exploitation or forced labor, a problem that has plagued Pakistan for decades. As for the perpetrators, 42 percent of convicted traffickers in North Africa and the Middle East held South or East Asian citizenship, outnumbering local offenders.
These statistics paint a bleak picture of the problems facing South Asia. In Pakistan in particular there have been notorious cases of bride trafficking involving over 600 women and girls who were lured across the border into China in the promise of a better life, only to be subjected to abuse, forced pregnancies, and forced prostitution. When such cases first emerged in 2019, the government worryingly dismissed them, fearing that an investigation would harm relations with China, spelling an end to dubious investment projects. Once more Pakistan is under scrutiny for human trafficking, this time confronting a more systemic issue, with the full extent of FIA complicity in these operations yet to be uncovered.
In the past, there have been connections between nefarious actors involved in human trafficking and other Pakistani state agencies. Notably, this included the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), which has also been tied to cross-border insurgencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir, as well as to drug trafficking cases in India’s Punjab. The latest revelation about the FIA therefore raises yet another problem for Pakistan.
In July last year, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, together with various other international organizations, hosted an event in Pakistan aimed at strengthening safeguards for children in the fight against human trafficking. At the time, there was little indication that the organizers’ domestic partner, the FIA, would uncover cases of human trafficking within its own ranks just six months later.
The FIA now faces a critical moment of introspection, as it continues its efforts to arrest human traffickers, while dealing with corruption within its own ranks. Recent investigations have uncovered widespread fraud, with purported human traffickers taking large sums of money from individuals hoping to migrate to Europe or the Middle East, before disappearing with the money.
In response to these developments, Sharif has called for a comprehensive nationwide awareness campaign, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The campaign aims to educate Pakistanis about the legal avenues for migration and employment abroad, ensuring they are informed of safer, lawful alternatives to prevent them from falling prey to traffickers. However, more tangible actions will be required to dismantle the human trafficking infrastructure, especially if it is being propped up by state elements.
As for the perpetrators, Sharif has called for significant crackdowns and punishments for anyone found guilty of human trafficking, especially state officials. Under the 2010 Anti-Money Laundering Act, the FIA has already begun the process of seizing the properties of those involved in such operations. Of the 35 officers dismissed for their involvement in human trafficking, criminal cases have been opened against 13 so far, with the government eager to make an example out of state employees aiding and abetting the traffickers.
While this move reflects the government’s need to be seen tackling corruption and complicity in such crimes, it remains to be determined just how deep the problem goes and whether effective reform can be implemented to prevent recurring offenses. There is the added concern that the politicization of the FIA through several civilian governments and military regimes has significantly weakened the agency’s ability to function effectively.
There are also significant counterterrorism implications that must be considered. In 2024, Pakistan faced its deadliest year for terrorist attacks and fatalities in a decade, with no sign of the violence abating in the near future. For groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), lax security checks at Pakistan’s exit points raise the prospect of extending operations internationally. Such an opportunity would also not likely be ignored by Islamic State Khorasan Province.
Without root and branch reform to tackle corruption in Pakistan, terrorists will seek to exploit human trafficking networks connecting Pakistan to North Africa and onto Europe. Such a scenario could allow for the Islamic State, al-Qaida, and both of their affiliates to restart their campaigns of terror in Europe. This adds a dangerous new dimension to the trafficking crisis facing Pakistan, with the potential for it to accelerate the global export of terrorism from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s human trafficking crisis has thus reached a critical juncture. Not only have recent tragedies exposed endemic corruption within the state’s institutions once more, but they have also highlighted the broader regional and global implications of these operations. The dismissal of 35 FIA officers, and the subsequent arrest of 13, for their complicity in human trafficking operations suggests a systemic problem facing Pakistani law enforcement, which must be addressed urgently. Pakistan will struggle to contain the problem of human trafficking so long as its own officials continue to assist those engaging in it. The stakes are raised even higher with the potential for terrorist groups to exploit these vulnerabilities within the state.