Chinese residents reveal marriage to Pakistani girls through 'facilitators' despite ban
Chinese residents reveal marriage to Pakistani girls through 'facilitators' despite ban
After the news of human trafficking that resulted in the marriage of Chinese women to Pakistani women in 2019, all the organizations came together at the same time, leading to the arrest of around 50 people.
But the matter has not been kept in place for almost a year and despite such arrests, there have been no such marriages.
Investigations by the BBC have revealed that Chinese men have had relationships in Mardan, Peshawar and Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which families talk to their facilitators instead of Chinese people and get married. All the family members are invited to the wedding in Islamabad.
On the one hand, the financial obligations of married families remain in place, while on the other hand, a group of human trafficking victims, through their facilitators, still have access to such needy families and are continuing to persuade them.
A similar relationship was also held in the church colony of Sheikhupura, which later broke down on the timely intervention of relatives.
In all weddings from 2018 to the present, the majority of families marrying Chinese people belong to the poorer classes.
'Will own the kiln'
The church colony of Sheikhupura is located on a long road on which the Muslim and Christian communities on both sides have been living for years.
In the same colony there are kiln workers who work in the brick kiln in the back of the locality. According to social workers working in the area, these workers were recently told by a group of relatives in China that they would be made 'owners of a kiln' when they got married.
Salim Iqbal, a social worker from Lahore, said, “Due to our immediate intervention, the group did not come again. But in the absence of me or other people, these people will return. '
Last year, Saleem Iqbal was quite involved in bringing about the issue of taking Pakistani girls to China and they have faced threats.
According to families in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there were a woman, four men and one or two translators in the group that formed the relationship by 2019.
Some of them are also involved in smuggling. But government agencies have neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the group.
The same colony of Sheikhupura lives in the Samarin Christ (the surname) and their family.
A priest in his area sent a relationship to Samarin and her husband saying, 'My own sister is married in China and since she is happy I want every girl to go to China.'
Samarin and her husband work in a water factory and their monthly income is Rs 35,000. During the interview he repeated several times that he did not need the money but wanted to see the good future of his children.
Talking to the BBC, Samarin said he had five daughters and the 21-year-old daughter's relationship had been going on for the past two months. 'The priest told us that the boy was in China. They also talked to the boy on the video and the pastor's own sister. She looked so happy there. '
Samarin said that they were given Rs. 50000 for construction work in the house before the marriage was finalized.
“At that time we thought we would have a relationship so we refused but kept the money later. We thought we would give it to them later.
A few days later, Samarin told his brothers and sisters in Karachi about the relationship, 'My family was strictly forbidden. First, scold that you people do not read TV and news? He even said that if you guys had this relationship, we would consider ending the relationship. '
Now Samarin says that after the negotiations have ended, the facilitator has demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for the passport and identity card he had invested.
The government refuses to talk to Chinese residents about the issue of marriage
Following news about the marriages of women married to Chinese men in Pakistan, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) sent a detailed report to the Prime Minister in June 2019, according to which the number of smuggled women is 629.
About 50 Chinese residents and their facilitators were arrested from various cities in Punjab, according to government sources.
But when asked about the FIA recently, he said that only one of the arrested persons is on trial while all the others have been acquitted by the court.
"We can send cases to the court on our own, but we cannot determine if they will be punished," a senior FIA-affiliated officer told the BBC.
Former deputy director of the FIA, Jamil Khan Mayo, told the BBC in May 2019 that the organs of women smuggled from Pakistan, especially fetuses, are sold to the international black market.
According to FIA officials, women who are not considered fit for sex, their organs are sold.
But after giving all these details and holding these groups in operation in Faisalabad, Jameel Khan Mayo was exchanged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since which he does not want to discuss the subject on the media.
However, in August 2019, a UN seminar participant, including senior FIA officials, said that 20,000 women were smuggled from Pakistan in 2018.
Giving details, the FIA official said that apart from South Punjab and Balochistan, women are also smuggled from the cities of Pakistan to Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, the main reason being for getting married or better income opportunities.
But after giving the figures, FIA officials were reluctant to talk more about it.
Referring to the situation, social activist Saleem Iqbal claims that 'there is an attempt to suppress the issue at the government level'.
Marriages of Chinese men and Pakistani women
In April 2019, about eight girls residing in Lahore filed FIRs at various police stations in the city. All these FIRs had the same text.
But after giving the figures, FIA officials were reluctant to talk more about it.
Referring to the situation, social activist Saleem Iqbal claims that 'there is an attempt to suppress the issue at the government level'.
Marriages of Chinese men and Pakistani women
In April 2019, about eight girls residing in Lahore filed FIRs at various police stations in the city. All these FIRs had the same text.
International organization Human Rights Watch warned Pakistan last year that weddings in Pakistan are similar to weddings in five other Asian countries.
In an interview to the BBC, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said China had cooperated with Pakistan to resolve the issue.
'Every society has all kinds of people. China also imposed restrictions on visas for some time. And are still watching. Relationships with our China are such that we understand, talk to each other, and even cooperate with each other. With their cooperation, you can see that this matters in the background. I'm gone. '
'Government talks to Chinese authorities'
Recently, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry was questioned in the Senate about the progress made by Chinese residents about the marriage of Pakistani girls. So the Interior Ministry submitted the same report and said that the process has been completed till now. And about 50 people have been arrested. These are the same individuals who were acquitted as a result of not having received any evidence, according to the FIA.
In this regard, Home Minister Ejaz Shah told the BBC that the government of Pakistan and China were talking to each other.
"We have also identified the cases and informed the Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities are as worried as we are. '
He said that the illegal act was 'not happening at the behest of Pakistan and not by the Chinese.'
At the same time, he said of the evil Chinese people: "If I arrest someone while in the Ministry of the Interior, then my work is done. Now it is the job of the courts. How can they be released? It can't be that any bad can happen and we can't put his name on the ACL. '
When Natasha Masih, who was recovered from China last year, was asked about the incident with her, she asked the opposite question why she should speak now. Before turning off the phone, he said, 'I was dishonored in a full court. It was said that I was spoiling the country. What do I get by talking now? '
