Declaring human trafficking as a global challenge, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday called for multilateral efforts to eradicate the menace.
Speaking at the concluding session of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties(ICAPP) on human trafficking as a special guest, he maintained that it is beyond the capacity of any single state or a single political party and joint efforts are needed to address them both within and beyond national borders.
"Human trafficking is a stain on the collective conscience of the humanity, an unacceptable barbarity and a new form of slavery in the 21st century which must be rejected, condemned and eliminated," he said, adding also that this stain and stigma can be washed by collective action of nations and mankind, he said.
Referring to the fact that the ICAPP Islamabad moot had been organised by four political parties including the PPP, PML-N, PML-Q and PTI, he said that it had raised the hopes of achieving much more in collectively fighting the evils facing mankind.
The ICAPP represents some three hundred political parties in more than fifty countries. The two day international conference of ICAPP concluded after adopting Islamabad statement that reaffirmed "commitment to continue combat against this most heinous act of violence" and adopted an Action Plan focusing on raising public awareness, mapping trans-border cooperation and establishing a fast track prosecution system, through creating synergies among all stake holders.
PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the two-day moot was participated by representatives of various political parties in nations that ranged from Afghanistan to Azerbaijan, Bangladesh to Bhutan, Cambodia to Colombo, Malaysia to Myanmar, Palestine to Pakistan beside other countries and several international organisations.
Bilawal said that he had special affiliation with ICAPP because his mother Benazir Bhutto was also a founding member of the organisation.