The Pakistani Spectator

The death of 52 people in a 16 wheel container on 4th April in the vicinity Hazarganji,  12 kilometers from Quetta was a pathetic scene of the unruliness and administrative incompetence the country is faced with.  It was a heinous crime of human trafficking mafia which resulted in the cold blood murder of innocent people, a crime which has been in  practice for years with the support of  big echelons of our ruling society.

The container is said to have entered Quetta from Afghanistan after having unloaded the goods near Baghram airport for NATO forces near Kandahar with 110 persons, majority of whom belonged to Afghanistan, as illegal immigrants to Europe en rout Iran and Turkey.   The container led by a driver and co-driver/conductor was found parked on the western bypass of Quetta.  According to the witnesses, it was a motorcyclist who first noticed the parking of the container with driver fleeding towards the city.  He was unable to understand the situation was concerned with the cleaning of his motorcycle plug which gave him repeated problem on his way to his village.  “I noticed sounds of crying and drumming inside as someone captive asking for help.”  He stopped riders on the way and as they approached the back of the container the drivers had unlocked, they saw the inhuman scene of human trafficking.   Until the matter was reported to media and authorities, the people from around reached the scene and tried to rescue those already unconscious with suffocation and thirst.  “Within no time the roadside  was filled with dead bodies”, said one of the witnesses.   Stunck with vomiting and human waste, all dead and alive were in critical condition whose dreams of having left their kith and kin for rosy days in Europe were reflecting a sad tale of the inability of the system which entails a number of factors, be it  the inability of administrative corruption, intelligence failure,  parochial citizenry or then support for heinous crimes at the hands of mafia which often results in such crimes.

The truck entered Pakistan from Spinboldik, the adjacent Afghan town near Pak-Afghan border.   The border gate, known as Bab dosti or the gateway of Friendship is open to traffic between 8 to 5 pm is heavily guarded with Frontier Corps (FC) under the command of a Major with Intelligence Bureau (IB), Federal Investigating Agency (FIA), Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Federal Investigation Unit (FIU) and Central Excise & Customs personnel.   It takes around two to three hours for a wheeler of that size to get checked and cleared.  How come it was not checked and cleared by the number of agencies whose prime duty is to monitor and secure necessary information about a vehicle.   It entered the Pakistani area in day time.  The other version which is largely believed is that the victims entered Pakistan illegally and boarded the truck on different points.  Even then how come it was unnoticed again as there are number of security pickets and mobile units which stop and check traffic.   The trucks entering Pakistan from Afghanistan are subject to severe surveillance and security due to smuggling of goods and drugs factors.  The security factor has become more particular after the recent attacks on NATO supply convoys from Al Qadea and growing suicidal squads.   Again, a question arises that how come the trespassers whose strength was more than 100 entered Pakistani land and boarded the truck.   Had they been terrorists or included suicidal bombers.   No matter whatever the version may be it was sheer failure of the intelligence agencies to monitor the route which is of geo-strategic and sensitive nature.

Hasting Donnan and Thomas Wilson in their research on human trafficking across borders say “if the boundaries of the nation-state have been shaped by the forces of global economic integration, they have also been shaped, less obviously perhaps, by the illicit activities which at once exist because of the state border and give borders their raison d ‘etre. But it is the failure of state system and lead to security hazards. It is perfectly true in  case of  Pakistan.  Human trafficking has been drastically grown over the years with patronage.  It is carried through agents at the hands of the mafia but are facilitated by the high rank government officials and notables.  It is a concern for our security too.  Can we stop the cases of terrorism across country if our international borders are so vulnerable.

Human sufferings and economic hardships with unemployment of parochial citizenry lead to such cases.  They are assured and lured into rose picture of safe heaven into Europe. Many might have experience it, but the larger are sufferers like the one on Sunday.   I know a personal case from Quetta who working on a tea stall was approached by a notable to arrange his safe reach to Greece through Iran and Istanbul at $ 4000.  The boy did not have money and promised to arrange him in few months hard work.  Had he been one of the victims, he would have deprived his ailing mother and two sisters of his immediate support.   Many of the victims are even untraced and recorded missing for their parents.  Even majority of the victims from Sunday tragedy were without identification due to unavailability of IDs; they were empty pockets.   The 4th April incident is a sad tale of the government inefficiency and intelligence failure at the hands of human trafficking mafia over the years have become more stronger: politically and financially.