Pakistani brides trafficking: A video from Pakistan is going viral on X, claiming families are trafficking and selling their daughters as young as 8 years old, to Chinese grooms for a mere $2,000. The video claims that since 2019, over 629 Pakistani women have been sold to China. According to various independent researchers, these women are exploited and abused to do forced labor in China.
According to a 2019 AP report, Pakistani investigators compiled a list of 629 girls and women, as part of a determined effort to dismantle trafficking networks exploiting poor and vulnerable communities.
All About The Pakistani Brides Trafficking
In 2019, the Faisalabad court acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with trafficking. According to the report, quoting a court official and a police investigator, several women who had initially given statements to police later refused to testify in court after being either threatened or bribed into silence.
Several senior officials with knowledge of the situation confirmed to AP that investigations have slowed, investigators are increasingly frustrated, and Pakistani media outlets have been pushed to reduce coverage of trafficking.
“No one is doing anything to help these girls,” one official said told AP. “The whole racket is continuing, and it is growing. Why? Because they know they can get away with it. The authorities won’t follow through, everyone is being pressured to not investigate. Trafficking is increasing now.”
Beautiful Pakistani 🇵🇰 girls are being married off to Chinese 🇨🇳 men for mere $2,000. Many of them live in dilapidated tents on the outskirts of cities.
Some try to downplay it by saying most of them are Pakistani Christians. But even if that were true — is this how a nation… pic.twitter.com/9dD9fj1Yu6
— Omer Waziri (@OmerWaziriUK) October 12, 2025
What is China Saying About the Alleged Pakistani Brides Trafficking
China’s Foreign Ministry in 2019 stated that it was unaware of the list of trafficked brides.
“The two governments of China and Pakistan support the formation of happy families between their people on a voluntary basis in keeping with laws and regulations, while at the same time having zero tolerance for and resolutely fighting against any person engaging in illegal cross-border marriage behavior,” the ministry said in a statement faxed to AP’s Beijing bureau on Monday.
An earlier AP investigation revealed how Pakistan’s Christian minority has emerged as a key target for trafficking brokers. These brokers pay poor parents to marry off their daughters, some of them teenagers, to Chinese men, who then take them back to China.
Many of these brides face isolation and abuse or are forced into prostitution once they arrive in China. Some manage to contact their families, pleading to be brought back.
About The Viral Video
As far the viral video is concerned, several fact-checkers have debunked it, claiming it is an AI-generated video. There are now fresh reports about the trafficking of Pakistani brides to China. The video is likely based on the 2019 reports, now gaining traction again.
Also Read: Afghanistan Has Other Options If Pakistan Doesn’t Want Peace: Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
