Policymakers in Pakistan appear to be in a deep slumber, unmoved by one of the most pressing human rights crises festering within the country. A new study launched last week by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), titled ‘Unveiling Exploitation and Abuse in the Brick Kilns of Punjab’, lays bare the harrowing reality of bonded labour. It details how thousands of workers, including entire families, remain trapped in modern-day slavery. Yet the state’s response continues to be silence, indifference or token gestures. For those familiar with Pakistan’s entrenched inequalities, the report merely reconfirms what has long been known but rarely acted upon. The brick kiln industry operates as a system of debt bondage.
According to the NCHR report, 97 percent of brick kiln workers are pushed into bonded labour due to urgent loans taken at times of desperation. Nearly 90 percent of them lack formal contracts, leaving them stripped of even the most basic labour protections. More than 70 percent of families are forced to live in cramped, single-room dwellings, trapped in cycles of poverty that are passed down from parents to children. Videos occasionally surface on social media showing families being freed when some kind soul pays their debts, amounts often no larger than the price of a smartphone. These viral moments are heartwarming, but they also serve as a damning reminder of the state’s failure. Freedom from slavery should not depend on private charity; it should be guaranteed by law and protected by the government.
Sadly, none of this is new. Bonded labour has been part of Pakistan’s social fabric for decades. Successive governments have enacted laws and policies aimed at eradicating the practice. Yet laws without implementation are little more than empty promises. The lack of enforcement, coupled with government silence, has allowed profiteers to continue exploiting the loopholes. The assassination of Iqbal Masih, the 12-year-old child labourer who became a symbol of resistance against bonded labour in the 1990s, is a chilling reminder of how those who dare to speak out are silenced. His tragic story forces us to ask: how many more Iqbals are still hidden away in factories, kilns and workshops, their lives erased by systemic neglect? The fact is that, for the poor, there are no safety nets. When an emergency strikes, the only option available is to borrow money from kiln owners and similar mafias. These ‘loans’ are designed to enslave, poverty and desperation weaponised to ensure a steady supply of cheap labour.
Welfare programmes, when introduced by the state, too often operate as short-term measures or political slogans. They provide temporary relief, but they do not address the structural inequalities that sustain bonded labour. What is needed is a model of financial empowerment. Workers should earn livable wages that enable them to support their families without having to rely on handouts. Access to micro and nano-loans must be expanded so that the underprivileged can meet their urgent needs without surrendering their freedom. Only when financial independence becomes a reality for the working poor can the grip of bonded labour be broken. Brick kilns are not isolated aberrations; they are a symptom of a system that prioritises profit over people. If policymakers remain content with reports gathering dust on their shelves, bonded labour will persist for yet another generation. Pakistan has no shortage of laws. What it lacks is the courage to act.
Editorial Published in The News on September 1, 2025.
