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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan marked a day of mourning on Monday for the more than 300 of its citizens who drowned last week after an overcrowded migrant boat sank off Greece en route to Italy illegally.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said some 750 people were crammed into the fishing vessel when it capsized on June 14, killing hundreds and making the tragedy one of the worst. The Mediterranean Seaworst.
At least 400 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians, and 150 Syrians — including about two dozen Syrian women and young children — were on the trawler, according to information shared by survivors of the shipwreck.
The authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of Pakistanis but have claimed that many of them are from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades, Pakistanis are leaving their country in droves, many taking perilous and illegal routes to Europe. Family sources said most of the fishing boat victims had paid 2.5 million rupees ($9,000) to secure passage to Italy.
Pakistani authorities have arrested 14 people in connection with the alleged trafficking. We have arrested 10 suspects who belong to a human trafficking ring that sent these people to Europe. Reuters quoted district police officer Tahir Mahmud Qureshi as saying. A senior official of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said four other people were arrested in Punjab province.
The Pakistani survivors blamed the Greek coast guard, saying the ship had been deliberately left to sink. At least 12 of them told harrowing tales from an aid camp in Greece.
One of them, Osman, told his family back home that the boat had run out of fresh water and had been drifting for five days. “A cargo ship dropped some water bottles after pleas,” his family said, adding that the fishing trawler began to sink after a smaller boat tried to tow it in a rescue attempt.
They said the ship’s engine had failed, leaving them stranded for about a week. They further claimed that the Greek authorities did not help even though there were two speedboats, a cargo boat and a ship at the site.
But the Greek authorities insisted that the boat was on its way to Italy and did not need to be rescued.
Last year, more than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in search of better economic prospects abroad. With inflation soaring and the value of the rupee depreciating by more than 35%, millions of middle-class urbanites have been pushed to the brink of poverty, forcing them to leave.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said some 750 people were crammed into the fishing vessel when it capsized on June 14, killing hundreds and making the tragedy one of the worst. The Mediterranean Seaworst.
At least 400 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians, and 150 Syrians — including about two dozen Syrian women and young children — were on the trawler, according to information shared by survivors of the shipwreck.
The authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of Pakistanis but have claimed that many of them are from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades, Pakistanis are leaving their country in droves, many taking perilous and illegal routes to Europe. Family sources said most of the fishing boat victims had paid 2.5 million rupees ($9,000) to secure passage to Italy.
Pakistani authorities have arrested 14 people in connection with the alleged trafficking. We have arrested 10 suspects who belong to a human trafficking ring that sent these people to Europe. Reuters quoted district police officer Tahir Mahmud Qureshi as saying. A senior official of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said four other people were arrested in Punjab province.
The Pakistani survivors blamed the Greek coast guard, saying the ship had been deliberately left to sink. At least 12 of them told harrowing tales from an aid camp in Greece.
One of them, Osman, told his family back home that the boat had run out of fresh water and had been drifting for five days. “A cargo ship dropped some water bottles after pleas,” his family said, adding that the fishing trawler began to sink after a smaller boat tried to tow it in a rescue attempt.
They said the ship’s engine had failed, leaving them stranded for about a week. They further claimed that the Greek authorities did not help even though there were two speedboats, a cargo boat and a ship at the site.
But the Greek authorities insisted that the boat was on its way to Italy and did not need to be rescued.
Last year, more than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in search of better economic prospects abroad. With inflation soaring and the value of the rupee depreciating by more than 35%, millions of middle-class urbanites have been pushed to the brink of poverty, forcing them to leave.
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