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| India-Pakistan |
| 43 child jockeys smuggled to ME recovered |
| 2007-04-23 |
| The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in collaboration with Interpol and the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis has recovered 43 children smuggled to Middle East countries as camel jockeys, during the first three-and-a-half months of this year. The agency has also arrested 26 human traffickers and their agents from different parts of the country and investigations against them are underway, Daily Times has learnt. Most recovered children belong to remote areas of Sindh and the Punjab. Sources said the human traffickers had tricked poor parents by telling them that philanthropists had taken the responsibility to provide education to their children in big cities. The human-traffickers also fixed a monthly stipend of between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for the parents. The sources said officials from the FIAÂ’s passport cell in Multan, Bahawalpur and Hyderabad had completed the investigation against the arrested and sent challans of the cases to the courts. The sources said four jockeys had been killed during camel races in ME countries in last six years but their ill-fated parents were unaware of it. Mirza Mohammad Yaseen, the FIA additional director general, told Daily Times that the agency was in touch with Interpol to apprehend the members of these gangs involved in smuggling children to Dubai and other ME countries. FIA Director General Tariq Pervez, who is in France to attend an Interpol meeting, would urge the authorities concerned to expedite the arrest of human traffickers. |
| Posted by:Fred |