Tragic demise of illegal immigrants in Balochistan
Editorial :
In a tragic incident, three illegal immigrants died of thirst in Balochistan’s Nokundi area near the Iranian border. Initial official investigation suggests that human traffickers had abandoned the victims in Nokundi deserts over the issue of extra payment.
In scorching heat, the victims died of thirst. Levies force found decomposed dead bodies of the victims. Images of their dead bodies shared on social media networks pained every sane person.
However, it has yet to have an impact on the minds of those at the helm of affairs. Human traffickers involved in this human tragedy are still at large. The federal and provincial governments are yet to take any notice of the tragedy.
The ill-fated people walked for 36 hours
All three walked in scorching heat for 36 hours to find a road, water, and people to survive. “Bad luck, they failed and died of thirst and heat”, Irfan, one of the four survivors recalls the ordeal with tears in his eyes.
Khaleequr Rehman, Irfan’s cousin, was laid to rest in Wazirabad, Gujranwala district, while the body of Hafiz Muhammad Bilal, Irfan’s nephew, was temporarily buried where he breathed his last. The body of his brother, Mohammad Sajjad, remained untraced.
This was not the first untoward incident involving illegal immigrants near the Pak-Iran border. Miscreants have repeatedly targeted illegal immigrants in Balochistan.
Human traffickers are at large
It has always been noticed that the authorities apprehend illegal immigrants. In rare cases, human traffickers are arrested. Human traffickers have cemented good relations with authorities to keep continue their business at the cost of the lives of poverty-hit people.
A decade ago the federal government had established an inter-agency tasks force comprising the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Frontier Corps (FC), Levies, and Police to tackle the issue. The force has not been able to hold its meetings to evolve a strategy to cope with the issue of illegal immigrants. If all four agencies join hands, then, the number of illegal immigrants can be decreased and such kinds of incidents can be averted.
The federal and provincial governments must take notice of this human tragedy and use all available resources to bring the human traffickers to the task.
