ISLAMABAD , June 19, 2023: The country is in the state of mourning today in the backdrop of deaths of Pakistanis in the Greece boat tragedy as the families of victims shared their miseries and helplessness while requesting the authorities to get confirmations about the exact status of their loves ones.
As massive crackdown against human traffickers was launched on Sunday with some arrests after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a high-level investigation to trace the human traffickers behind the incident and declared a national day of mourning today (Monday).
A ship carrying migrants including Pakistanis sank off the coast of Greece on June 14, leaving several dead and missing.
“Tomorrow, the national flag will fly on half-mast and special prayers would be offered for the deceased,” PM Office Media Wing said in a press statement issued in the Urdu language.
Moreover, according to another notification of the PM Office, the prime minister has constituted a high-level four-member committee to conduct an inquiry into the tragic incident.
“In an unfortunate incident on 14th June, 2023, a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Greece resulting in the deaths of Pakistani/AJK nationals along with other nationals. The number of casualties are being still ascertained. The Prime Minister, while expressing his grief over the incident and also taking a serious note of it, has been pleased to constitute an Inquiry Committee,” the notification said.
The committee will be headed by its chairman Director National Police Bureau Ehsan Sadiq and Additional Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Africa) Javed Ahmad Umrani, DIG Azad Jammu and Kashmir Police Region Poonch Sardar Zaheer Ahmad and Joint Secretary Interior Division (FIA) Faisal Nisar Ch. as its members.
The Inquiry Committee would submit its report within one week.
According to the notification, the Inquiry Committee would ascertain facts of the Greece boat tragedy, identify loopholes and lapses in the legal/enforcement mechanism in Pakistan that exposed precious human lives to the vagaries of human trafficking in this particular case and similar incidents in the past.
The committee is tasked to analyze similar past incidents and action taken so far and to take stock of the existing legal framework, enforcement measures (in the country) and international coordination to prevent, control and punish human smuggling and to prepare short-and long-term recommendations (including legislation, enforcement measures, awareness campaigns and improvement of national and international coordination) to apprehend agents, facilitators, masterminds, rackets and for the eradication of the menace of human trafficking.
— Key ‘human trafficker’ arrested in Sheikhupura —
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday claimed to have arrested a key human trafficker involved in sending people abroad from Sheikhupura days after dozens of migrants drowned off the coast of Greece.
The investigation agency apprehended the key suspect, Talha Shahzaib, from Sheikhupura. He had received Rs6.5 million from Zahid Akbar, resident of Farooqabad for sending him abroad.
The arrest came hours after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered crackdown on agents engaged in the human trafficking.
Earlier, the authorities arrested 10 alleged human traffickers after Greece boat tragedy.
Meanwhile, the PM also announced observing mourning day on Monday in the wake of boat incident.
He said national mourning will be observed tomorrow on June 19 and the national flag would fly at half-mast and special prayers will be offered for the deceased.
The PM also formed a four-member high-level committee to investigate the incident and National Police Bureau DG Ehsan Sadiq would be its chairman, Javed Ahmed Imrani, Additional Secretary (Africa) of the Ministry of External Affairs, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Poonch Region. KDIG Sardar Zaheer Ahmed and Joint Secretary (FIA) Faisal Nasir of the Ministry of Interior were also included in the committee.