The Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences of International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) organized an awareness seminar in collaboration with the Pakistan-US Alumni Network titled ” Raising Awareness among Youth about Trafficking in Persons in Pakistan”.
Speakers opined that “Collaborative Efforts are required to Control Human Trafficking” while, human trafficking, a multi-billion dollar organized crime, is a transnational issue that makes young men and women more vulnerable, particularly in the times of economic meltdown and high inflation. Citizens, especially the youth that is over 60 percent of Pakistan’s total population needs to be sensitized about this serious offence.
Addressing the seminar participants Prof. Dr. Ayaz Afsar, Vice President (Academics) of IIUI, said the academia should conduct research on the issues related to human trafficking so that Pakistan may design evidence-based intervention to fight against this crime.
Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) talked about the media’s role in both promoting and controlling this menace. Dr. Zafar Iqbal opined that, “If traffickers can use social media to trap people into trafficking, we must use the same platform to raise awareness among youth so they may not become victims”, he added.
Mr. Paul Giblin, the Public Diplomacy Officer at the US Embassy, Islamabad spoke about the efforts of the US government to strengthen anti-trafficking interventions in Pakistan. Mr. Paul, addressing the seminar participants, said that we are supporting awareness raising initiatives and strengthening the cooperation with Pakistani government and law enforcement agencies. We are also sensitizing government officials from Pakistan through exchange programs in the US”. He added that collaborative efforts are required to control human trafficking by making people aware and conducting such seminars in the society as well for this purpose.
Prof. Dr. Farhan Navid Yousaf, the Director of Centre for Peace and Security Studies at University of the Punjab, Lahore opined that Human Trafficking stems from the social issues and people at the margins of society such as the poor, children, women and young people are disproportionately affected”. Dr. Farhan stressed that people who are given false hope that they might find work, a spouse, or have a better life abroad, notably in Europe and the Middle East, quickly realize that they were deceived by the traffickers.
Director, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Humyun Masood Sandhu highlighted the efforts made by the Government of Pakistan to get rid of human trafficking. He said that Pakistan has improved its international ranking and is committed to combat the threat of human trafficking by creating a strong coordination infrastructure that would bring traffickers to justice and safeguard victims.
Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director of Sustainable Social Development Organization, SSDO a civil society organization emphasized the role of NGOs in raising awareness regarding human trafficking and working in collaboration with government departments for the implementation of concerned laws. Dr. Naseem, Associate Professor of Law spoke about the laws concerning human trafficking and their implementation in Pakistan.
Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad, Chairperson Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, while welcoming the participants of the seminar highlighted that human trafficking was a serious threat for young people who wish to study or work abroad at any cost as they can be easy targets for the traffickers.
Earlier, Prof. Dr. Farhan Navid Yousaf, the Director of Centre for Peace and Security Studies at University of the Punjab, Lahore also called on Prof. Dr. Nabi Bux Jumani, Vice President, Administration and Finance and presented him shield.
This awareness raising seminar was attended by a large number of faculty members and over a hundred students.