WASHINGTON: The US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2025 has placed both Pakistan and India among the countries that do not fully meet minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but are making “significant efforts” to do so.
The annual report, released in Washington, reviews efforts by governments worldwide to combat human trafficking, which the State Department defines as modern-day slavery involving forced labour, sexual exploitation, and other forms of coercion.
The report identifies Pakistan as a destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour, particularly migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Traffickers also exploit women and girls — and to a lesser extent, boys — from Afghanistan, Iran, and other Asian countries in sex trafficking within Pakistan.
The report notes that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual remain highly vulnerable to exploitation. Since Pakistani law criminalises same-sex conduct, these groups face systemic discrimination and violence, further heightening their risk of being trafficked.
Civil society organisations told US officials that large-scale violence against women and girls, including so-called “honour killings,” leaves women especially susceptible to trafficking networks. The report highlights that refugees and stateless persons are among the most vulnerable. This includes Afghans without proper documentation, stateless people of Bengali, Bihari, and Rohingya origin, as well as religious and ethnic minorities such as Christians, Hindu Dalits, and Hazaras. Many of these groups are trapped in bonded labor schemes.
Afghans — both undocumented migrants and registered refugees — face additional risks due to frequent harassment by authorities and the threat of deportation. Lacking legal protections, many turn to the informal economy for work, where they are easily exploited.
The report also criticises Pakistan for not having a clear definition of “statelessness”. International organisations estimate that hundreds of thousands of stateless people in the country lack access to basic identity documents and essential services, leaving them particularly vulnerable to traffickers.
“Traffickers exploit Rohingya ethnicity stateless persons and Afghans in forced labour in Pakistan,” the report warns.
The report also keeps India in Tier 2 — countries making efforts but falling short of minimum standards. India, it says, demonstrated “overall increasing efforts” compared to the previous reporting period. Positive steps included greater funding for specialised courts handling child-related crimes (including trafficking), prevention campaigns, and the repatriation of Indian nationals exploited in online scam operations in Southeast Asia.
The Indian government also expanded awareness programs on safe overseas employment and improved victim identification procedures through the Railway Protection Force. Advisories were issued to state governments to curb trafficking and ensure foreign victims were not wrongly punished for immigration violations stemming directly from being trafficked.
New Delhi failed to provide comprehensive national data on investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers. Victim services remained insufficient and varied widely from state to state, while courts rarely awarded restitution to victims, leaving many waiting years for compensation.
The absence of an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate anti-trafficking policies further undermined efforts. Moreover, law enforcement often misclassified cases, particularly those involving bonded labour, and corruption among some government officials fueled a perception of impunity for traffickers.
Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025
