Pakistan, May 1 -- This year's Labour Day arrives with the usual slogans of labour dignity and official messages celebrating workers' contributions. Meanwhile, in the brick kilns and mines, children still toil in dust and heat.

Pakistan has a modern slavery problem. It can no longer bury its head in ceremonial speeches. The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimates that 2.349 million people in Pakistan live in modern slavery, placing the country 18th globally by prevalence and fourth in Asia and the Pacific. There are more than 20,000 kilns across the country, employing about 4.5 million workers. Over ninety per cent of kiln workers are believed to have taken an advance loan, or peshgi, the small sum that becomes a chain around a family. Relig...