ISLAMABAD: Pakistan observed a day of mourning on Monday for hundreds of citizens who died on a migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Greece, with authorities promising stern action against human smugglers and “negligent” officials.
As many as 750 men, women and children from Syria, Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Pakistan were on board the vessel that sank off Greece on June 14. Authorities rescued 104 survivors and retrieved 78 bodies last Wednesday.
There has been no official information on how many Pakistanis were aboard the fishing trawler, how many survived or how many perished, but local and international media suggested the number could be as high as 300.
On Sunday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his grief over the loss of lives in the tragic incident and announced a day of mourning on Monday, with the national flag flying at half-mast.
“I have ordered a high-level inquiry. FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) and other law enforcement agencies have been tasked to tighten the noose around the individuals involved in the heinous act of human smuggling,” Sharif said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
“I assure the nation that those found negligent toward their duty will be held to account. Responsibility will be fixed after the inquiry and heads will roll.”
Every year, thousands of young Pakistanis embark on perilous journeys to flee economic hardships in the South Asian country and in search of a better life abroad.
Wednesday’s shipwreck and the subsequent loss of lives of a large number of Pakistani citizens led to a crackdown on human traffickers in Pakistan.
Police in Azad Kashmir said on Sunday they arrested 12 people involved in sending local youths to Libya to continue their journey to Europe.
Senior officer Khalid Chauhan said authorities picked up the suspects amid a crackdown on human traffickers. Police interrogated them for their alleged roles in luring, trapping and sending locals abroad after extracting exorbitant amounts of money from them.
Around 28 people from the Khuiratta area in the district of Kotli had gone to Libya for onward travel to Europe, police said. Local official Chaudhry Haq Nawaz said there was still no confirmation on how many young men from the area were on board the ill-fated boat, or how many are among the dead or missing.
Raja Sikandar of Bindian village in Kotli said his four nephews, aged 18 to 36, were missing.
“We were informed by the media (of the tragedy). When children are not found or die, you can understand what a parent goes through,” he said.
Raja Mohammed Majeed asked the Pakistani government to bring back his nephew, Raja Awais.
“If he is dead, bring back the body,” he said. “When we bury him here, his mother, sisters and others can go to his grave and offer prayers. We will be patient.”
