GUJRANWALA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed that 15 Pakistani nationals who survived the recent boat capsizing incident near Morocco’s Dakhla port have safely returned home.
The FIA also identified human smugglers responsible for sending Pakistanis to Spain via North Africa and is conducting raids to apprehend them.
An FIA spokesperson stated that eight of these nationals arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning, while seven others had already returned last night.
The ill-fated boat had departed from Mauritania on January 2, carrying 86 migrants. Moroccan authorities confirmed that 66 of them were Pakistani nationals. After the accident, 36 individuals were rescued.
At least 50 people lost their lives in the tragic incident.
The increasing fatalities of Pakistanis in boat capsizing incidents while attempting to migrate illegally have sparked a strong response from the government. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered strict action against human smugglers and officials facilitating them.
Earlier this month, former FIA Director General (DG) Ahmed Ishaque Jehangir dismissed 35 officials for their involvement in illegal migration and failure to perform their duties.
Sources revealed that Jehangir’s removal was approved by PM Shehbaz due to the slow progress of investigations into illegal migration and recent boat tragedies.
Meanwhile, eight passengers, aged between 21 and 41 years, landed at Islamabad Airport today via Qatar Airways flight QR614 and are currently being interrogated by officials.
The survivors who returned today include Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Adeel, Irfan Ahmed, Arsalan Shamil, Ghulam Mustafa, Badram Muhiuddin, Mujahid Ali, and Tasbeeh Ahmed Shamil.
According to the spokesperson, two of the passengers are from Sheikhupura, two from Sialkot, two from Mandi Bahauddin, while one each belongs to Gujarat and Jhelum.
Among the seven Pakistanis who returned last night, three hail from Gujarat, while one each is from Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, and Sialkot.
The FIA revealed that these individuals attempted to enter Spain illegally via Dubai and Senegal, paying agents hundreds of thousands of rupees.
“The agents sent them to Dubai, Ethiopia, and later to Senegal on visit visas. From there, an attempt was made to transport them to Spain by sea,” the FIA spokesperson disclosed.
The agency also exposed several human trafficking networks operating in Pakistan, as identified passengers provided key information.
Initial investigations revealed that the traffickers operate from different regions in Punjab.
The FIA also named some of the smugglers, including an agent named Usman, and human traffickers Ali Raza, Fadi Gujjar, and another Usman residing in Lahore.
The FIA warned citizens to “always contact the embassy of the relevant country before traveling” and to never hand over personal documents to an unauthorized person.
