Pakistan moves against human traffickers as Kashmir mourns victims of Greek shipwreck

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA)- The state flag flew half-staff, and special prayers were held across Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Sunday to remember dozens of youths from the region who have been killed or gone missing in a boat wreck off the coast of Greece on Wednesday.

The government announced Sunday as a "mourning day" as grief and sorrow gripped the region following the shocking news which fell like a bombshell on the victims' families back home.

At least 78 migrants drowned off southwestern Greece on Wednesday after the fishing boat they were in capsized.

A total of 104 migrants were rescued, but the number of deaths is feared to rise as survivors said the vessel was carrying more than 600 migrants, mostly from Pakistan, Egypt, and Syria.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry confirmed that 12 of the survivors are Pakistani nationals.

The scenic Khoe Ratta town of Kotli district remained in the grip of shock as some 27 youths from the area who were on the ill-fated boat have gone missing.

Thousands of people, including local politicians and government officials, thronged the victims' homes to offer condolences to the bereaved families.

-Shocked town shut

“The whole town is in deep shock. Shops and markets are closed as special prayers are being held in different parts of the district,” Ameer Mughal, a local resident, told Anadolu over the phone.

Assistant Commissioner Sardar Mushtaq Ahmad told Anadolu that 27 youths belonged to different parts of the district, whereas further data is being collected. The victims’ number may soar, he added.

A spectacle played out by local broadcaster Geo News showed a family wailing as people offered condolences. A dejected father broke into tears as another mourner hugged him, another footage showed.

Hundreds of unemployment-stricken Pakistani youths risk their lives to reach Europe by sea and road for a better future after paying huge amounts to human smugglers, despite frequent accidents. Many of them are even shot by border guards.

In March this year, a famous Pakistani woman athlete Shahida Raza, and several others were killed after a boat carrying more than 150 others from Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan crashed into the rocks trying to reach the shores in Crotone, Italy.

- Action against human traffickers

Pakistani authorities launched a fresh crackdown, mainly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, against human traffickers as anger against the government's lenient response grows.

The government agencies are often accused of forging a nexus with or turning a blind eye to human smuggling.

The federal investigation agency has arrested 10 suspected human traffickers from different parts of the Islamabad-controlled part of Kashmir – also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir –, and another from Karachi airport, who was trying to flee abroad, Geo News reported.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, in a statement, said that Pakistan’s Embassy in Greece remains in contact with the Greek authorities to identify the 78 recovered bodies.

“At this stage, we are unable to verify the number and identity of Pakistani nationals among the deceased,” she said, adding that the identification process will take place through DNA-matching with close family members (parents and children only).