SIALKOT/MANDI BAHAUDDIN-Six out of 15 victims, who fell prey to the cruelty of the human traffickers because of poverty in Turbat, belonged to Sialkot district while three of them hailed from Mandi Bahauddin.
Four dead bodies reached Sialkot on Thursday while two more bodies of the victims were handed over to their families on Friday. The victims were buried with their dreams of lucid future abroad.
The bodies of Ghafran, Ghafur, Waqas Ilyas, Tayyub Raza, Abu Bakar and Majid were buried in village Jethikey and Sialkot district amid sobs and tears. They had paid Rs200,000 each to the local human traffickers/agents after borrowing the money for going abroad.
Both Abu Bakar and Majid were close friends they went out of their homes together but were gunned down by some human traffickers near Turbat-Quetta. The atmosphere remained mourning and gloomy in the region as a large number of the people attended Quran Khwani held for the eternal peace of the victims at their native villages in Sialkot and Daska tehsils. They demanded massive crackdown on the human traffickers, their agents and sub agents in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils.
The grieved families said that the victims were breadwinners of their families. They had preferred to go to Turkey via Iran after paying Rs150, 000 to 200,000 to the human traffickers in Sialkot, Sambrial, Wazirabad and Gujrat.
Sialkot ADCG Meesam Abbas said that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced Rs1 million financial compensation for the grieved families of each victim.
In village Bhinder-Uggoki(Sialkot District), victim Ghafur’s father Noor Ahmed said that Ghafur was his only son who wanted to eliminate the family’s poverty. The 35 years old was the father of three minor children and only breadwinner of the family. “I have lost everything after the brutal killing of my beloved son Ghafur,” he revealed.
Another victim Ghafran Zahid’s father Zahid Mehmood said that his 22 years of son was the only hope for his family. He was the only brother of three sisters. He said that Ghafran wanted to go abroad for earning a living. He had contacted with human trafficker Tanveer of village Mundai Khurd (Sambrial tehsil) and gave the latter Rs150,000 for sending him Turkey via Iran through Quetta.
In village Punj Garaayien, Daska, the grieved family of victim Tayyub Raza said, “Our poverty forced us to contact with human traffickers/agents for sending our beloved son abroad. The agents struck a deal with us and got Rs200, 000 which we borrowed from our relatives for sending Tayyub Raza Turkey. But the agents did not honour their commitment and shot him dead near Turbat-Quetta instead of sending them to Turkey.”
In village Gojra, Daska tehsil, the grieved family of victim Waqas Ilyas (24) staged a sit-in in the village to lodge their strong protest against human trafficking. The family said that the human traffickers, their agents and sub agents were the killers of humanity thus they be punished at all costs. The family demanded action against the human traffickers.
Meanwhile, FIA Divisional Deputy Director Khalid Anees said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested two human traffickers Zafar and Tanveer from Sambrial and Sialkot for their direct or indirect involvement in sending Ghafur and Ghafran to Turkey after getting Rs150, 000 from their families. But, the human traffickers in Quetta shot them dead and threw their dead bodies in local mountains. He said that FIA has sent the accused behind bars after registering separate cases.
Likewise, the dead bodies of Mandi Bahauddin-based three persons were buried in graveyards of their respective villages Pahran, Charanwala of Phalia Tehsil and village Fazalabad of Malakwal Tehsil.
Gloom prevailed in the villages when the dead bodies were brought and handed over to their heirs by Rescue 1122. In the meanwhile, FIA arrested one agent involved in human smuggling.
Meanwhile District and Sessions Judge Javedul Hassan Chishti handed over life imprisonment to two persons convicted in a murder case. They were also fined Rs one lakh each. In 2016 Naveed Arif and Suni Shahzad had murdered one Nasir Abbas over a brawl in the precincts of Qadirabad police.