629 Pakistani girls sold as brides in China

Beijing : A total of 629 girls and women across Pakistan have been sold as brides to Chinese men and have been moved to China, claimed a report by Associated Press.

According to a list obtained by the news agency, compiled by Pakistani investigators determined to break up trafficking networks exploiting the country’s poor and vulnerable, it is the most concrete figure yet over women trafficking.

The biggest case against traffickers has fallen apart. In October, a court in Faisalabad acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with trafficking. Several of the women, who had initially been interviewed by police, refused to testify because they were either threatened or bribed into silence, according to a court official and a police investigator. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution for speaking out.

The report also mentioned that there is an immense pressure from the government to curtail the investigation, halt officials involved in pursuing trafficking networks, said Saleem Iqbal, an activist who has helped parents rescue several young girls from China.

Pakistan has not commented on the report yet.