Pakistan’s interior minister said that an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off Greece last week, and that many remain missing. Of an estimated 700 people aboard, only 104 were rescued.
FILE - In this photo released by Press Information Department, Prime Minister Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, right, chairs a meeting regarding ongoing crackdown against human smugglers, in Islamabad, Pakistan on June 21, 2023. The government has also launched a crackdown on the human traffickers who arranged travel for the Pakistanis on the fishing boat, many of whom were seeking jobs in Europe. So far, police have arrested at least 17 suspected traffickers in connection with the case.
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s interior minister said Friday that an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off Greece last week, and many remain missing and may have died inInterior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told lawmakers in the National Assembly that an estimated 700 migrants were on the boat when it sank June 14. Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued and 82 bodies have been recovered.
The government has also launched a crackdown on the human traffickers who arranged travel for the Pakistanis on the fishing boat, many of whom were seeking jobs in Europe. So far, police have arrested at least 17 suspected traffickers in connection with the case.Greece has been widely criticized for not trying to save the migrants before the sinking in international waters. Officials in Athens say the passengers refused any help and insisted on proceeding to Italy.
Pakistanis who believe they lost relatives in the sinking are urging others not to send their loved ones abroad illegally. “It is better to skip lunch or dinner while living in Pakistan instead of taking the risk of going abroad with help from smugglers,” said Sawan Raza, who fears his brother, Ali Raza, is among the missing people.
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