Germany-based International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) has raised the alarm over widespread debt bondage in Pakistan, warning that 4.5 million people — including a disproportionate number of Christians — are effectively trapped in conditions of modern slavery, according to a US State Department report cited by the rights body. The ISHR published its findings on 30 April, drawing on testimonies collected by Pakistani human rights activist Sajid Christopher of the Human Friends Organisation (HFO).

How Debt Bondage Works

The ISHR explained that individuals — many of them illiterate — take cash advances from what the organisation described as "dubious" moneylenders during times of acute financial need, without being informed of the loan's terms and conditions. High interest rates combined with persistently low wages mean that the debt grows faster than it can be repaid, locking borrowers into a cycle of compelled labour.

"Debt bondage is not merely an economic issue. It is a form of modern slavery in which people toil endlessly under oppressive conditions without any hope of escape," the ISHR stated.

The Human Face: Javed Masih's Story

In an email dated 3 February, activist Sajid Christopher highlighted the case of 72-year-old Javed Masih, a Christian man who has spent more than three decades working at brick kilns in Pakistan. Christopher described the physical toll in stark terms: "You can see from his skin that the brickworks dust has settled on it, and the weight of the bricks has bent his shoulders. The days at the brickyard begin before sunrise. Javed Masih and his family work in the summer heat, where every step kicks up dust, and in the winter until they can no longer feel their hands."

According to Christopher, a loan taken in desperation to ensure basic survival has grown into an outstanding debt of Pakistani Rs 399,756 — an amount far beyond Javed's capacity to repay. "This debt binds him to the brickyard and keeps him trapped in a cycle where his work contributes not to his family's progress, but to servicing a debt that never diminishes," Christopher added.

Scale of the Crisis

The ISHR, citing the US State Department, said that 4.5 million people in Pakistan are engaged in slave-like conditions — not only in brick factories but also as farm labourers and domestic servants. The rights body further noted that more than one million children are compelled to assist their parents in such labour, effectively depriving them of education and healthy development.

This comes amid longstanding concerns from international observers about Pakistan's failure to enforce existing anti-bonded-labour legislation, particularly the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992, which prohibits the practice but has seen limited implementation on the ground.

Generational Trap and Minority Vulnerability

The ISHR stressed that workers like Javed Masih are not isolated cases. The rights body noted that such conditions frequently extend into the next generation, with children born into bonded labour families inheriting their parents' debts and obligations. Religious minorities, particularly Christians, are reportedly over-represented among bonded labourers, as they often occupy the lowest rungs of Pakistan's economic and social hierarchy, making them especially vulnerable to exploitation by moneylenders.

The ISHR's latest alert adds to a growing body of international pressure on Islamabad to take verifiable action against bonded labour — a practice the United Nations classifies as a contemporary form of slavery. Whether Pakistan's government responds with enforceable policy measures or rhetorical assurances remains to be seen.