In April 2014, two labour rights activities were attacked on the edge of Lahore, the capital of Punjab. They were campaigning for the rights of bonded labourers, many of which work in brick kilns in the provinces of Punjab (Pakistan’s wealthiest province) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack was blamed on the owner of a brick kiln.
Pakistan is ranked third in the world for the prevalence of slavery (behind Haiti and Mauritania) and for the presence of slavery in absolute terms (behind India and China). According to the UN, there were more than two million workers in bonded labour in Pakistan as at May 2014.
“There is not even a single kiln in Lahore and its suburbs which is not owned by the politicians who are sitting in corridors of power, including federal and provincial assemblies,” said Ibn Abdur Rehman, a prominent human-rights activist and president of the National Coalition Against Bonded Labor.