ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has called for a firm action against those involved in sending the people abroad illegally. Acting upon his call, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered four separate cases against human traffickers involved in the Greece shipwreck tragedy.
Asif while speaking in the National Assembly on Monday, expressed deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of Pakistani migrants in a boat incident near the coast of Greece. He said the government and the opposition parties should work collectively to initiate a stern action against these human traffickers and this illegal movement must stop.
He said some people have been arrested in the country, but their nexus also exists in other different countries as well. The Defence Minister said the nation is observing a day of mourning today to express solidarity with the bereaved families of boat tragedy. The Chair, in his remarks, said that the Greece Boat tragedy has aggrieved the entire nation.
He said the government must take action against the human traffickers and stressed that the people should also be educated about the hazards of illegal immigration.
Earlier, at the outset, the House offered fateha for the departed souls of Pakistani migrants died in a boat incident near the coast of Greece as well as those who died in other accidents in the country.
As many as 78 Pakistani nationals drowned when the ill-fated boat with reportedly 400 to 750 people onboard sank in the Mediterranean Sea near the Greek coast.
According to media reports, some 104 people were rescued and sent to Kalamata, Greece.
Cases were registered against the human traffickers in Gujrat and Gujranwala on the complaints of the people rescued in the boat wreckage tragedy.
The FIA named 12 human traffickers including Asif Sanyara, Riyasat, Rana Naqash, Nadeem Aslam and Muhammad Aslam and others in three cases registered in Gujrat.
Meanwhile, FIA also appeals families of Greek shipwreck victims to identify traffickers’ names.
Amid arrests of key human traffickers in a countrywide crackdown, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has appealed to the families of the Greek shipwreck’s victims to come forward fearlessly and identify the agents involved in the illegal immigration and transportation process.
“The affected families will be given protection under the required laws as they are also witnesses in the cases,” senior FIA additional director-general North Rana Abdul Jabbar told a news channel.
He urged the families to contact the FIA officials for speeding investigations. At least 400 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians and 150 Syrians, including around two dozen Syrian women and young children, were travelling on the trawler, according to the initial information shared by survivors of the shipwreck. However, authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of Pakistanis onboard the ship. The Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday that 12 Pakistanis had been found alive.
On announcement of PM Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan observed a day of mourning over the tragic deaths of its national in the ship sinking incident near the coast of Greece on June 14, 2023.
The national flag flied at half-mast and special prayers were offered for the deceased of the Greece ship tragedy.
