Azerbaijani woman: IHC directs MoI to provide travel document for one time

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the secretary Ministry of Interior to provide travel document for one time to an Azerbaijani woman, who had been illegally trafficked in Pakistan for prostitution.

A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the petition of Jameela Nizami, daughter of Nizami, resident of Baku, Azerbaijan, currently residing at Edhi Home, Islamabad. The bench also directed the Interior Ministry to give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the victim, so that she could return to her home in Azerbaijan.

During the hearing, a representative of the Edhi Foundation appeared before the court, and informed the court that Faisal Edhi had expressed his willingness to bear the expenses of Jameela's air travel. At this, the court directed him to submit photocopy of the air-ticket with the court, and deferred the hearing till October 19th.

The petitioner filed the petition through her counsels, Zia Ahmad Awan Advocate and Asma Mushtaq Advocate, and cited secretaries of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Human Rights as respondents. The petitioner is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and is presently residing at a shelter home under the care and administration of Edhi Welfare Trust. According to her petition in 2011, she was trafficked from Baku, by an Azerbaijani woman namely, Ibrahimova Lali to Islamabad under the pretext of marriage with a Pakistani man.

Jameela stated that in Islamabad, Lali handed over the petitioner to one lady namely, Zareefay, who confiscated the travel documents of the petitioner, and took her to a brothel den for prostitution, and thereafter, the petitioner was compelled to remain in the brothel den for about three years under strict supervision and command. She further said that after three years, the petitioner was sold for Rs100,000 to an Azerbaijani woman, namely, Beeka, who was running a brothel house in Karachi. She said that husband of Beeka namely, Asif was a Pakistani citizen, permanently residing in Karachi and as per information, he was a drug supplier particularly, ice supplier.

The petitioner also told that in 2019, the petitioner managed to escape from the clutches of the brothel owners with the help of a friend. Jameela prayed before the court to declare that she was illegally brought to Pakistan by the human traffickers, and thereafter, has been exploited at the hands of agents of the said human traffickers, and as such she is entitled to be repatriated back to her country on sole expenses and arrangements of respondents, jointly and individually.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020