KABUL - Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSMD) has reported that human strugglers transfer Afghan children abroad through illegal means and many of these children are abused by mafia and smugglers on the rout toward the foreign countries.

Child smuggling is against the prevailing laws of Afghanistan and global conventions on children rights and this trend must stop, Wasil Noor Mohammad deputy minister of labor and social affairs told media, adding that thirteen Afghan children who were expelled from Saudi Arabia have reintegrated with their parents, the age of these children are between 6 go 13.

According to the ministry officials the Saudi government expelled these children on the basis of the foreign act law.

It is said that these children were transferred to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage purpose alongside their parents and they stayed their without having legal documents.

Families of the expelled children received them on bail and pledged to seriously take care of their sons.

According to the Ministry of labor and social affairs, last year 259 cases of smuggling were registered during the last years which shod that the trend is growing and is strongly threatens the Afghan children.

Last year at least 17 Afghan children were deported from Saudi Arabia.

“In most cases, these children are misused economically, because extremist organizations train them as suicide bombers,” Ali Eftekhari, a spokesman to Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled said.

In the meantime, number citizens have expressed apprehensions over the trend and demanded that the criminal behind the human smuggling and abuse of the children must be brought to prosecution and justice must be implemented on them.

“Human trafficking is an illegal act and it has forged major concerns to families, human traffickers to not have mercy on the children and even the become victims of sexual abuse and sexual harassments, I demand the government to formulate inclusive policy to rein the tenure,” Kabul resident Ali Reza said.

“We must no leave our homes without permission of our parents, because there many kinds of dangers on the way, people must not trust human smugglers, government must prevent the trend,” a victim of human trafficking Shoaib said.

Analysts believe that there are many factors behind the issue of human smuggling and Afghanistan ass an impoverished country lacks enough economic and job opportunities fulfill the requirements of the citizens. (BNA)