SECTION 4 CONCLUSION “We kept looking for him, asking relatives, brothers and sisters and friends about his whereabouts but we remained clueless until we received his call after four months. Only then we came to know that he is [imprisoned] in Saudi Arabia and what had happened. The very people who took him for an Umrah used him as a mule to take drugs. I felt like I lost everything.”50 - Razia Bibi, wife of a migrant worker imprisoned and executed in Saudi Arabia As this report has documented, the thousands of men and women leaving Pakistan for work in the Gulf face a serious risk of exploitation, human trafficking, and even being sentenced to death through no fault of their own. Central to this situation is the systemic failings of the recruitment regime in Pakistan. Low-wage migrant workers are continuously exploited by criminal actors who exploit the loopholes documented in this report with relative impunity. The common threads of low literacy, dire financial need, no prior experience in foreign countries, and a lack of any history of involvement with the criminal justice system leaves individuals looking for work overseas vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals and groups operating as OEPs or recruitment subagents. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of coordination between authorities responsible for oversight of OEPs, the significant lapses in controlling the flow of narcotics outside of Pakistan, and the treatment of victims of drug trafficking as perpetrators. The governance of migratory movements cuts across a range of government responsibilities, and inadequate coordination or indifference hinders efforts to prevent victims of human trafficking from being exploited by individuals and groups. Low-wage workers from Pakistan risk harsh punishments in the Gulf countries, including the death penalty, simply due to their lack of understanding of and assistance with the legal process, incapability to communicate directly with the court, and inability to produce evidence from Pakistan in their defence. Compounding the suffering faced by victims of these abuses, to date no relief has been provided to detainees on death row on narcotics smuggling charges by any of the various institutions responsible for controlling migration, trafficking and smuggling. The Pakistani authorities can ensure its nationals are protected from these abuses by introducing new legislation and policies, and implementing existing laws. There is an urgent need for coordination between authorities responsible for oversight of OEPs and subagents and those dealing with smuggling and trafficking. The Pakistani government must also fundamentally reshape how it engages with its citizens imprisoned abroad. The authorities should not treat individuals charged with a crime in a foreign country as criminals before they are even sentenced. The authorities should instead take action to prevent migrant workers from Pakistan being left at the mercy of local courts without access to lawyers, impartial translators, or consular assistance from the Pakistani diplomatic missions. The situation need not be this dire. By understanding the gaps in Pakistan’s labour migration framework and adopting policies and practices that lead to adequate enforcement of existing protections, the Pakistani authorities can ensure the men and women who journey for work overseas are safe from human trafficking, exploitation and avoid being sentenced to death. 25