Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a sharp directive to law enforcement and interior ministry officials: stop treating human trafficking victims like criminals.
The Prime Minister’s stance comes as the government faces mounting international pressure to overhaul its approach to border security and migration. For years, survivors of trafficking rings have often found themselves entangled in lengthy legal battles, facing charges for illegal border crossing while their traffickers frequently evade capture.
“These people are victims of a brutal trade,” the Prime Minister told a meeting of senior officials in Islamabad. “Treating them as suspects rather than survivors is a failure of our system.”
The directive mandates that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and local police departments shift their focus toward dismantling the organized networks behind these crimes. Instead of detention, the government plans to implement a protocol that prioritizes rehabilitation and safe repatriation.
Critics have long pointed out that current policies often prioritize border statistics over human rights. When a boat sinks or a migrant is deported, the legal fallout has historically landed on the individual, not the smuggling kingpins profiting from the journey. By reclassifying these individuals as victims, the government is attempting to signal a shift in accountability.
Human rights advocates, however, remain cautious. They argue that policy changes on paper rarely translate to immediate relief on the ground, especially in remote border regions where local authorities have operated under the same punitive mindset for decades.
The Prime Minister’s order includes a requirement for the interior ministry to submit a monthly report on the number of trafficking networks dismantled, rather than just the number of migrants apprehended.
Whether this shift in rhetoric can break the cycle of victimization remains the central challenge. The government says the new protocol takes effect immediately, but for those currently sitting in detention centers, the real test will be how quickly their cases are reviewed and dismissed.
