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ISLAMABAD – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday issued instructions for coordination of the government’s response and asked the ministries of foreign affairs and interior to ensure provision of efficient and timely assistance to the Pakistani victims of Moroccan boat tragedy.
The DPM/FM chaired a meeting on issues relating to 3rd country relocations of Afghan nationals, a press release said. The meeting also reviewed in detail the boat tragedy off the coast of Morocco leading to several deaths. The meeting was attended by the secretaries of the ministries of foreign affairs, interior and other officials.
After at least 44 Pakistanis reportedly lost their lives in the Morocco migrant boat tragedy, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has kicked off a probe against its 20 officials who had allegedly cleared travel documents of victims at three major airports.
The development came after the federal government launched a high-level probe into the tragic boat incident in Morocco wherein dozens of Pakistani migrants drowned while attempting to reach Spain from West Africa earlier this month.
In a statement on Saturday, an FIA spokesperson said that the agency initiated a probe against its 20 officials over suspicions of their involvement in human smuggling. It added that the officials had allegedly cleared the victims of the ill-fated boat at airports.
The unfortunate incident occurred on January 16 when a boat carrying irregular migrants from the African nation of Mauritania to Spain capsized. 50 migrants, including 44 Pakistanis, were presumed dead.
Although, as many as 36 Pakistani citizens were rescued, the rest still remain missing which, as per a report from the Pakistani Embassy, should be presumed dead.
The ill-fated boat departed from Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants on board. Moroccan authorities reported that 66 of the passengers were Pakistani nationals and noted that it had rescued 36 people after the accident.
The suspected FIA officials include eight from Faisalabad airport and six each from Karachi and Lahore airports. The agency also revealed that Mauritania was the “third and new route” for human smuggling after Turkey and Libya.