Several young men from Landi Kotal have reportedly been arrested at the Bulgaria-Turkey border while attempting to enter Europe illegally after initially traveling to Turkey on work permit visas.
According to credible sources, Turkish work permits are increasingly being misused by organized human trafficking networks.
Reliable sources indicate that after stricter scrutiny of visit visas, illegal agents involved in human trafficking have begun using Turkey as an alternative route.
In collusion with Turkish recruiting companies and Pakistan-based Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs), local agents lure youth with false promises of jobs and send them to Turkey. Once there, the companies sever ties, leaving the young men stranded and vulnerable.
One such case involves a 20-year-old from Landi Kotal who went missing a year ago while trying to cross into Bulgaria from Turkey. His family has yet to receive any information regarding his fate, dead or alive.
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Similar stories have emerged of other young men being sent to Turkey under the pretense of lucrative jobs, only to find themselves abandoned, forced into illegal residence and backbreaking labor to survive.
Some Landi Kotal youth revealed that they are working menial jobs in Turkey to save money in hopes of making it to Europe. Local agents play a crucial role throughout the process, arranging accommodation and transport in Turkey and handling money transfers through informal channels like hawala and hundi.
Sources further disclosed that in recent weeks, parents of eleven youth detained at the Turkey-Bulgaria border paid €1,200 each to local agents who promised to use their “connections” to secure the youths’ release.
Residents of Landi Kotal have urged the FIA Peshawar to take strict action against these illegal travel agents, who exploit work visa loopholes for human trafficking.
Meanwhile, the issue was also raised during a recent Senate session. The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development revealed that out of 1,460 deported Pakistani nationals, 691 had been sent abroad through registered OEPs.
The ministry has issued show-cause notices to the involved agents and recommended legal action against them.
Senator Zeeshan Khanzada and others stressed the need for stringent measures against agents and traffickers who are jeopardizing the nation’s image and exploiting desperate youth.
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