ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday confirmed that 13 Pakistani nationals were among those who died in last month’s boat tragedy near the Mauritania-Morocco maritime border.
Earlier the Foreign Office stated that a boat carrying 80 people capsised near Morocco on January 16, with over 40 Pakistanis among those killed.
Migrant rights group Walking Borders estimated that approximately 50 individuals may have drowned while attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa.
Reports suggest that more than 40 Pakistanis were killed by African human traffickers on the boat. Out of around 66 Pakistanis on board, only 22 survived. The survivors were brought back to Pakistan, with the last group of eight arriving in Islamabad on Saturday.
The Foreign Office in a statement confirmed that after thorough verification, the bodies of 13 Pakistanis have been identified. The remains of four—Muhammad Arslan Khan, Qaisar Iqbal, Hamid Shabbir, and Sajjad Ali—will arrive in Islamabad on February 5 via a Saudi Airlines flight.
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Initial investigations indicate that most of the traffickers involved are believed to hail from the cities of Wazirabad, Lahore, Gujrat, and Sialkot. The victims paid between Rs1.6 and Rs2.5 million each to secure a promised air trip to Spain.
Instead, they were unlawfully routed to Ethiopia and then to Senegal on visit visas. Once there, the traffickers compelled them to continue their journey by sea, demanding additional money along the way.
