Pakistanis Stranded in Cambodia-Laos Border Scam Camps, Rights Body Warns

The chairperson of Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) has warned that Pakistanis recruited for jobs abroad through fraudulent schemes are being held in scam compounds near the Cambodia-Laos border and face major obstacles getting home, even after escaping their captors.

In an article published on 27 October 2026, Rabiya Javeri Agha said confiscated passports, expired visas and documentation requirements repeatedly delayed the return of victims, leaving some in detention rather than on a flight home.

Key facts

• In May 2026, the government told the National Assembly that approximately 15,000 Pakistanis were reportedly caught up in fraudulent employment schemes or camps across Southeast Asia.
• Amnesty International identified nearly 100 scam compounds in Southeast Asia across its 2025 and 2026 investigations.
• One Pakistani recruit paid an agent Rs800,000 and says he was held for two years in a prison-like compound near the Cambodia-Laos border.
• An August 2026 raid on a suspected illegal call centre in Islamabad led to the detention of 500 foreign nationals, including Chinese and Vietnamese citizens.
• Roughly 70 women are being held at Adiala Jail in connection with fraudulent activities.

What is happening to people recruited for jobs abroad?

One man from Narowal, Farid, told the NCHR that a local agent charged him Rs800,000 for the promise of a well-paid job overseas. Instead, he says, he was held in a compound near the Cambodia-Laos border where his passport was taken and his movements were restricted.

His work was cooking for hundreds of other trafficked people in scam centres, on a shift that ran from 9am until 4am, with torture including electric shocks used against anyone who resisted. When authorities raided the compound, he escaped, but he was then apprehended by Cambodian police and remains in a detention centre waiting to return home.

Why are people still stuck after escaping?

Farid approached Pakistani diplomatic channels and later the NCHR, but his return was held up twice by documentation requirements, according to the article.

As authorities crack down on scam operations, thousands of Pakistanis face similar problems: some need emergency travel documents, others face penalties and bureaucratic delays, and families who already paid for the journey abroad are raising more money to bring relatives back.

Victims are not always recognised as victims, the NCHR chairperson wrote. People recruited in one country and forced into online fraud in another can be arrested when the operations are raided, while expired visas or confiscated passports become grounds for detention. Confiscated identity documents may also be misused by criminal networks to commit further fraud, potentially implicating victims in crimes they did not commit.

What is happening inside Pakistan?

Amnesty International documented human trafficking, forced labour and torture in the scam compounds it identified in Southeast Asia, and the article warns that similar criminal networks appear to be taking root in other regions, including Pakistan.

Many call-centre operations in Pakistan run without registration, and the writer says monitoring is insufficient to ensure compliance with the law.

What is being called for?

The NCHR chairperson called for a regularly updated registry of call-centre operations and effective oversight, closer scrutiny of recruitment networks inside Pakistan, and better coordination between cybercrime investigators, immigration authorities, anti-trafficking agencies and Pakistan's diplomatic missions.

She also urged that foreign nationals arrested in suspected scam operations be screened for possible trafficking and given legal assistance, and that Pakistanis stranded abroad receive timely documentation and repatriation, including in countries without a resident embassy.

What this means for travellers

The article illustrates the practical risks faced by people who travel on the promise of paid work abroad: passports can be confiscated, and travellers left with expired or missing documents may end up detained even when they are the victims. The writer urges authorities to make recruitment offers and payment flows easier to trace before anyone travels.

No timeline has been announced for any of the measures proposed. Farid remains in Cambodia, waiting to come home.