ISLAMABAD: Following the Greek boat tragedy in which at least 40 Pakistani nationals are feared dead, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered strict action against Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials, who are involved in facilitating human traffickers.

The premier issued these directives while presiding over a meeting regarding the prevention of human trafficking in Islamabad. He also instructed the authorities concerned to complete the ongoing probe into the human trafficking issue at the earliest and submit concrete recommendations, saying that such incidents earn a bad name for Pakistan in the entire world.

PM Shehbaz noted that a substantial delay was committed in taking action against the responsible following the boat capsizing incident in 2023.

The meeting was briefed on the measures taken so far to prevent human trafficking and about the recent boat incident in Greek. It was briefed that five Pakistanis, who died in the Greek boat incident, have been identified while the process for identification of others is underway.

It was further informed that the Pakistan Embassy in Athens is consistently in touch with the Greek authorities regarding the boat incident.

According to a report from the Pakistani Embassy in Athens, at least 40 Pakistanis lost their lives in the incident of boats capsizing near Greece. The report mentioned that bodies of 35 people remain missing, with little to no hope of survival, while five bodies have been retrieved. It added that the missing travellers should be presumed dead as the Greek Coast Guard has cancelled the maritime rescue efforts.

Three boats that overturned in Greek territorial waters had arrived from Libya’s Tobruk port, according to the Pakistan Embassy report. The first vessel carried 45 passengers, six of them were Pakistanis. In contrast, five of the 47 passengers on the second boat were Pakistanis. 76 Pakistanis were among the 83 passengers in the third boat.

36 Pakistanis were among the 39 individuals who were rescued from the third vessel. The five bodies of Pakistanis were recovered from the third boat.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 21 2024

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