Pakistan declares national mourning for Greece boat disaster victims.
The ship sank on June 14 near Pylos, Greece, and more than 500 passengers are thought to have perished in the water.
At least 298 Pakistanis killed in the event, according to local media. 135 people, or the majority of the victims, were from Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
104 survivors have been rescued so far, while be 78 bodies have been retrieved. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that 12 Pakistanis were among the survivors. Since the accident, no survivors or bodies have been discovered.
Up to 750 migrants, largely from Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, and Palestinian territories, were on board the ship attempting to reach Europe.
Day of mourning
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared a national day of mourning in response to the terrible incident in which a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Greece boat disaster.
The national flag will be flown at half-mast at all major buildings, according to a notification issued by the Prime Minister Office, and special prayers will be held for the victims.
The prime minister has formed a four-member high-level commission to investigate the fatal boat capsize off the coast of Greece.
A week will pass before the committee led by National Police Bureau Director General Ehsan Sadiq submits a report detailing the facts behind the Greece boat disaster, identity fraud, and shortcomings in Pakistan’s law and enforcement system that exposed priceless human lives to human trafficking.
The prime minister has instructed the relevant authorities to tighten the noose around the individuals who lure people into risky industries like trafficking.
Additionally, he commanded a swift crackdown on the agents responsible for the horrible crime and their just punishment. Additionally, he gave instructions for the 12 Pakistanis who had been saved in the incident to be cared for by the Pakistani Embassy in Greece.
Crackdown on human traffickers
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has started a crackdown against individuals who lure young men into risky journeys for human trafficking.
In Sheikhupura, Punjab, the agency claimed to have detained a significant human trafficker who was responsible for shipping people abroad. He had collected Rs. 6.5 million from a Farooq Abad homeowner.
In Azad Jammu, Gujrat, at least ten alleged people traffickers have been detained. According to reports, there are human trafficking organizations in Punjab’s Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Sahiwal districts among others.
Pakistan has being singled out
International media said that Pakistanis on the fishing boat that collapsed and sank off the coast of Peloponnese in southern Greece may have been singled out and forced below deck, with hundreds of passengers presumed dead.
Survivor statements to Greek coastguards, according to a British newspaper story, indicate that people on the ship were separated based on nationality, with Pakistanis and women and children being forced below deck into the hold.
The report said that Pakistanis were forced below deck while other nationalities were permitted on the top deck, where they had a much higher chance of surviving a capsize, according to smuggled survivor accounts.
According to the report, the accounts indicate that women and children were essentially imprisoned in the hold, ostensibly for the protection of men on the packed ship.
The survivors claimed that when Pakistani nationals emerged from below deck in search of fresh water or attempted to flee, crew members harassed them.
The boat conditions were so bad that six people had already perished after it ran out of fresh water before it sank.
Greek deception
Whether the Greek coastguard hid its involvement in the disaster has come under scrutiny. The Greek government said that because the passengers had chosen Italy as their preferred destination, the ship never sent out a distress signal.
Some of the passengers on board the boat are said to have pleaded for assistance, although it is unknown if the crew informed the Greek coastguard of their wishes.
Another point of contention concerns the Greek coastguard usage of a rope to steady the boat. It is claimed that this action caused the boat to capsize by shifting weight.
A government spokeswoman later contradicted the coastguard’s original denial that it had used the rope, claiming that it had stayed a safe distance from the yacht.
Up to 500 passengers from the migrant boat are still missing, according to the UN human rights office. 104 persons in all were saved and transported to Kalamata, Greece.
43 Egyptians, 47 Syrians, 12 Pakistanis, and 2 Palestinians were among the passengers who have been saved thus far, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard. Of those saved, eight were children.
Tens of thousands of Pakistanis flee the nation as a result of the political unrest and economic crises.
Young men frequently utilize a route through Iran, Libya, Turkey, and Greece to reach Europe illegally. These young men are largely from eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
