The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has apprehended the primary suspect involved in last year’s devastating Greece boat tragedy, which resulted in the loss of at least 40 Pakistani lives, officials reported.
In a statement released by the FIA Gujranwala Circle, the arrest of Usman Jajja, a well-known human smuggler, in Sialkot was confirmed, following an operation directed by the federal interior minister.
According to the agency’s spokesperson, Jajja had evaded capture since the incident and is accused of orchestrating unlawful boat journeys to Europe. “The suspect had collected substantial sums of money from victims under the false premise of facilitating their travel to Europe,” the statement detailed.
Jajja was a wanted individual in over eight cases within the FIA Composite Circle Gujranwala and is believed to be a leading figure in an international human smuggling network. Officials stated that he had been avoiding authorities since the Greece tragedy and had sought refuge in Gilgit-Baltistan after obtaining bail in an unrelated case.
Authorities declared that further investigations are in progress, and raids are being conducted to apprehend other individuals involved. “A nationwide campaign against human traffickers is actively being carried out,” stated FIA Gujranwala Zone Director Abdul Qadir Qamar, emphasizing that the exploitation of innocent lives will not be tolerated.
This arrest occurs several months after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif mandated a national operation aimed at human smuggling networks and corrupt FIA personnel suspected of aiding traffickers. The FIA has subsequently dismissed 35 officials, and its former director general, Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir, was removed due to delays in investigating illegal migration cases.
The tragic boat, which capsized off the Greek coast on December 14, 2024, had departed from Libya’s Tobruk port, carrying 175 irregular migrants, including a significant number of Pakistani nationals.
A report from the Pakistani Embassy in Athens confirmed that a minimum of 40 Pakistani citizens perished in the incident. The embassy reported that three separate vessels had overturned in Greek territorial waters, with the majority of the victims originating from Pakistan.
The report provided details that one of the boats carried 83 individuals, consisting of 76 Pakistanis, three Bangladeshis, two Egyptians, and two Sudanese nationals. Of the 39 survivors rescued from this vessel, 36 were Pakistani.
The Greece tragedy was not an isolated occurence. In January 2025, a boat carrying illegal migrants from Mauritania to spain capsized resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people, of whom 44 were pakistani. While 36 Pakistani individuals were rescued, others remain missing, presumed dead.
Despite these tragic incidents, many continue to be lured by illegal migration due to economical hardship, and the dream of a better life overseas. Authorities have heightened their initiatives in an effort to supress Human smuggling, While Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia has also given a religious edict, deeming illegal migration a violation of state law, and also Sharia Law.
