Pakistan is currently a source, transmit point and destination for human smugglers. The focus has shifted to smuggling from Balochistan to Europe. Instead, smugglers use the Quetta Taftan highway to take travelers posing as pilgrims through Iran.
Scores of women and children have also been smuggled from or through Pakistan to different countries. Typically, human traffickers prey on young men who seek a better life overseas. They are kidnapped and taken to Iran, where demands are made for money from their families.
During the last four years, more than 80,000 cases of human smuggling have been reported across the country, with the majority being women and children. Although the National Assembly passed special laws regarding human trafficking prevention and control in 2018, there has been a failure to catch and indict the smugglers.
People lured by the traffickers often go no further than Iran, making their way back to Balochistan after being abandoned for failure to pay more money.
Non-governmental organizations working on the issue recommend better employment opportunities, education, health, and financial security to reduce the social menace.