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 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.
Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities concerned to take effective measures to combat human trafficking in the country by enhancing coordination.
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.
For any information or help regarding the boat incident, the meeting was informed that the Pakistani Embassy in Athens can be reached at +30-6943850188, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Crisis Management Unit in Islamabad can be reached at 051-9207887.
It was informed that people belonging to Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot and Mandi Bahauddin districts mostly become the victims of human traffickers. Moreover, legislation to stop human trafficking is also being improved.
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.
