ISLAMABAD/GILGIT: Families of 28 young men from Gilgit-Baltistan have issued an urgent appeal to the Government of Pakistan and international authorities after receiving alarming reports of torture, illegal detention, and life-threatening conditions inside a suspected human-trafficking compound in Cambodia. The crisis surfaced after desperate voice and text messages were received from a 22-year-old from Gilgit who had traveled to Cambodia in April 2025 believing he had secured a legitimate job. According to his father, he and 27 others were lured by a recruitment network that has since disappeared.
Documents shared by the families show that the young man’s Cambodia Stay Permit expired on October 26, 2025, leaving him and the other men in an extremely vulnerable legal position. Their passports, seized by their employer, are being held by a company identified in their contract as “DONG YING TEAM,” preventing any attempt to leave. The contract also outlines 12-hour workdays, mandatory unpaid overtime, and heavy fines running into thousands of dollars—conditions that experts say are consistent with forced labor.
In messages sent while under surveillance, the victim described a grim environment involving physical abuse, intimidation, and threats of being sold to “other black companies.” He reported that guards routinely search rooms, confiscate phones, and punish anyone suspected of trying to escape. “If they find something, I don’t know…I’ll be killed,” he told his family. Victims who complain are allegedly taken to an illegal jail, where they are beaten with electric shocks before being abandoned in jungle areas without documents, clothing, or means of communication.
He also revealed that the Pakistani recruiters who facilitated their travel have shut down their office and fled to China, indicating a well-organized recruitment scam targeting young professionals from Gilgit-Baltistan. “The people who sent us here have closed their office in Pakistan and gone to China. Now we’re being blackmailed,” he wrote.
As public concern grows, Col (r) Abaid Ullah Baig, the elected representative of Hunza, raised the issue in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, calling for immediate and coordinated action to secure the safe return of all 28 young men. He urged federal authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to treat the matter as a high-priority human-trafficking emergency.
The families have also appealed to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the FIA’s Anti–Human Trafficking Wing, and the Pakistan Embassy in Phnom Penh to intervene urgently. They argue that the expired visas, confiscated passports, and coercive contract terms offer clear evidence that the men are victims of human trafficking. “The window for safe intervention is closing,” said the father of the young victim. “Our children are in grave danger.”
They have provided contact details for the Pakistan Embassy in Cambodia and urged authorities to coordinate with the ambassador to locate and rescue all 28 young men. This incident reflects a growing pattern of trafficking cases involving Pakistani nationals who are lured by fraudulent job offers to Southeast Asia and end up in cyber-scam compounds operated by organized criminal networks.
The families say they will continue to raise their voices until the men are safely recovered. “Our sons are being tortured,” said one of the parents. “Every hour is critical.”
