Government Team Sent to Morocco to Investigate Migrant Boat Tragedy
GUJRAT: A high-level government delegation is set to travel to Morocco today (Saturday) to investigate the migrant boat tragedy that claimed the lives of several Pakistani nationals in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month. The incident occurred in waters between Mauritania and Morocco.
Reports indicate that 44 out of the 65 Pakistani migrants on board either drowned or died due to alleged torture. So far, 10 bodies have been recovered, while 19 individuals survived. The survivors and recovered bodies are currently in Dakhla, a coastal town in Morocco.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the dispatch of an official team to Morocco. According to sources, the team includes Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director General (North) Muneer Maarth, Additional Secretary Interior Salman Chaudhary, and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Bureau.
The delegation will visit Rabat and Dakhla to evaluate the situation and prepare a comprehensive report for the prime minister.
Action Against Human Traffickers
In response to the tragedy, the FIA has registered three cases against suspected human traffickers operating in Gujrat and Sialkot. These cases were filed by FIA crime circles in Gujranwala and Gujrat.
One FIR, filed on Friday, detailed a complaint by Shabnam Arfan from Budha Goraya village in Sialkot. She alleged that her husband, Arfan, and her brother, Muhammad Arslan, had been sent abroad illegally by a local agent, Asghar Sindhi, and his accomplice, Rana Usama. The two victims had paid Rs4 million each for employment opportunities in Europe.
According to the complaint, the victims departed Faisalabad airport for Ethiopia via Dubai on September 24. From Ethiopia, they were taken to Senegal and Mauritania before being placed on a ship. On January 6, the agent falsely informed Shabnam that her husband and brother had reached Spain, but subsequent attempts to contact them were unsuccessful.
Details from Survivors
Survivors of the tragedy, including Uzair Butt, recounted harrowing details of their ordeal. They alleged that traffickers, including some African nationals, demanded additional payments and killed four to five people daily, throwing their bodies into the sea.
Family sources revealed that only two out of 28 individuals from four villages in Gujrat survived, with the rest believed to be missing or deceased.
FIA Crackdown
The FIA has arrested a woman accused of collecting money from victims on behalf of her son, a suspected trafficker. Meanwhile, other family members of the agent fled their village during FIA raids.
The government has pledged to pursue justice for the victims and take stringent measures to combat human trafficking networks involved in such heinous crimes.
