Islamabad, June 21, 2023: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to bring the responsible of human trafficking to book at the earliest.
He issued these directives while chairing a meeting regarding human smuggling and the recent capsizing of a boat in the Mediterranean near Greece in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister expressed resentment over not taking timely action to check human smuggling and taking concrete steps despite repetition of such incidents.
He directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to supervise the investigation process and formulate recommendations related to the necessary legislation to prevent human trafficking. He also ordered the investigation committee to submit the report after completing it at the earliest.
The Prime Minister directed the Commissioner Gujranwala to identify the agents involved in the heinous act of human trafficking in and bring them to book soon.
The meeting was informed that ten FIRs had been registered after the incident while fifteen people arrested including the prime suspect. It was further briefed that one hundred and four people including twelve Pakistanis had been rescued, while 74 dead bodies had been recovered.
The Prime Minister directed the relevant institutions to be in constant contact with the families of the victims, while Pakistani embassy in Greece was further instructed to stay in touch with the Greece authorities regarding the incident.