ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned interior and foreign secretaries in a case pertaining to human trafficking in the country, especially Punjab where a number of such cases have surfaced lately.
Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge bench also summoned Advocate General of Punjab to assist it in the case.
The court observed there were issues stemming from lack of coordination between the state institutions.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general informed the court that Gujranwala was hit hard by the issue of human trafficking.
To this, the judges pointed out that people-trafficking has also rife in the areas of Gujrat, Lala Musa, Sarae Alamgir and Mandi Bahauddin.
“The ulcer of human-smuggling has to be eradicated,” CJP observed.
He said the court will direct the Punjab police to assist the FIA in fighting against the menace.
Last week, a boat full of migrants destined to Europe was capsized off the Libyan coast in Mediterranean, drowning all the people on-board. More than two dozen Pakistani nationals were said to be among those feared to have drowned in the incident.
A Foreign Office spokesperson had said earlier that 32 of total 90 people were Pakistani nationals and dead bodies of 13 Pakistanis had been identified.
