Pakistan: Sans governance - 26 Girls from Bajaur Agency

Twenty-six girls from Bajaur Agency have been recovered from Karachi, ostensibly brought there to live in a seminary. So far, no one knows how these girls reached Karachi or who had them sent there. What has come to the fore so far is that the girls had been living in a miserable condition in a two-room house where the owner of the seminary had shifted them recently. This house belonged to a person who owed the seminary some money that he was unable to return and had instead agreed to look after the girls free of cost. It turns out the girls, whose ages range from five to 11 years, were more or less abandoned to survive on their own. The insufficient supply of food would most of the time compel the girls to borrow food from neighbours, which actually became the reason for their recovery as well. The neighbours grew suspicious of the girls’ presence in an ordinary home while poorly fed, and informed the local MQM lawmakers about the situation. The girls were later recovered by the police and are still in its custody. The police are acting responsibly by following a strict procedure to vet the relatives coming to claim the girls’ custody. No girl should be allowed to leave unless the claimants are the parents.

It is still a mystery how these girls reached Karachi. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan, the MNA from Bajaur, Shahabuddin Khan, and the Bajaur Agency’s political agent, Fayyaz Sherpao, are all unaware what is at the bottom of this mystery. The incident raises the alarming question how many such girls may have been stealthily whisked away from the tribal areas while the administration there demonstrated shameless dereliction of duty to protect citizens, and that too these little flowers.

Expecting the Sindh government to have been vigilant about any such trafficking has proved pointless. The question then arises, why do we have political and official representatives if none of them is bothered about what is happening in the areas they are made responsible to serve. Bajaur Agency is not an ordinary place. Years of jihadi terrorist activities followed by multiple military operations have displaced a great many of the residents from there. Such situations potentially provide opportunities to traffic young girls, especially those who have lost their parents or could be easily kidnapped for lack of security. This is not just negligence but sheer apathy and callousness on the part of the responsible administrations. A thorough investigation must be launched immediately to find out the culprits, and if there is any network involved behind the displacement of these girls, it should be cracked down upon and the criminals given exemplary punishment.