PAKISTAN AUTHORITIES STOP INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRAFFICKING OF OVER 630 PAKISTANI GIRLS
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The Associated Press (AP) reported (December 5) that an investigation into the trafficking of more than 600 Pakistani girls and women, who were sold as brides to Chinese men and taken to China in the space of 18 months, was halted over fears it would harm ties with Beijing. Witnesses and investigators were threatened and pressured into silence with bribes from Pakistan government officials fearful of hurting Pakistan’s lucrative ties to Beijing. The news agency obtained a list containing the names of the 629 girls and women, compiled by Pakistani investigators determined to break up trafficking networks exploiting the country’s poor and vulnerable. In a statement on December 2, faxed to AP’s Beijing Bureau, China’s Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of the list of nearly 630 girls compiled by Pakistani investigators.
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