News
US report lauds Pak steps against human trafficking
ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: As the government of Pakistan is preparing for amendments to the Human Trafficking Ordinance, a positive report received from the US State Department on human trafficking has come as an encouragement for Pakistan, which is on America’s watch-list on the issue.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao told a news conference here that the US State Department had sent an ‘Interim Assessment Report on Human Trafficking’ for 2004, acknowledging measures taken by the Pakistan government against human trafficking.
"The report is encouraging for us as Pakistan has been on the watch-list of the United States and we are making more concerted efforts to deal with this problem," Sherpao said. In the last report for the year 2003, the State Department had strongly criticised the Pakistan government for poor tackling of the menace of human trafficking and since then Islamabad has been on the US watch list.
He said the US State Department has praised Pakistan’s efforts in combating human trafficking, as the report says that the Pakistan government is moving in the right direction to tackle the menace.
Sherpao said the interim report has particularly acknowledged improvement in conviction rate of human traffickers, performance of inter-ministerial committee.