Four more bodies of Pakistanis who perished in last month’s Greek boat tragedy have been recovered, raising the total number of recovered corpses to nine, confirmed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday.
The deceased have been identified as Shabbir, Zain Ali, and Zeeshan — all residents of Narowal — and Owais Ali from Sialkot.
The bodies have been shifted to a hospital in Athens from the Greek island of Gavdos. The Pakistani embassy is making arrangements to repatriate the remains, but this process may take another week.
This development comes after over 80 Pakistanis drowned when boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night of December 13-14. According to the Pakistani Embassy, 36 Pakistani citizens were rescued, while the rest are presumed dead.
The boats had departed from Libya’s Tobruk port and also carried Bangladeshi, Egyptian, and Sudanese nationals.
In response to the tragedy, the government vowed to take strict action. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered action against human smugglers and FIA officials involved in facilitating them.
During a meeting held on December 20 in Islamabad on preventing human trafficking, the prime minister directed the concerned authorities to expedite the ongoing investigations and submit concrete recommendations.
With the discovery of five more bodies, the number of missing Pakistanis stands at 40, according to the investigation agency.
Official sources report that over 5,000 Pakistanis remain in Libya, waiting to travel to Europe, often aided by Libyan and Pakistani agents. These individuals reportedly obtained visas legally from Pakistan and traveled to Libya.
