- Six victims hail from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram.
- One of deceased belonged to province’s Bajaur district.
- Victims identified through their passports, says FIA.
GUJRANWALA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of at least seven Pakistanis in a boat capsizing incident that occurred near Libya.*
Seven of the deceased have been identified through their passports, of which six hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, whereas one belonged to Bajaur, said the FIA.
The agency’s confirmation comes a day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that a boat carrying approximately 65 passengers capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, northwest of Zawiya City, Libya. Around 16 Pakistanis were were onboard.
The Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli, as per the ministry, dispatched a team to Zawiya Hospital to assist the local authorities in the identification of the deceased, the ministry said.
It also revealed that the Crisis Management Unit (CMU) was activated to monitor the situation with people advised to contact at 051-9207887 helpline.
Meanwhile, the relevant officials in Tripoli can be contacted on 03052185882 (WhatsApp), +218913870577 (cellphone) and +218 91-6425435(WhatsApp).
Terming the incident “deeply concerning,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement on Tuesday, said: “I have directed the Foreign Office and our Mission in Libya to ascertain facts at the earliest and keep the nation fully informed”.
The premier also assured that action will be taken against those involved in the heinous act of human trafficking, adding that no negligence of any kind would be tolerated in this regard.
The latest incident adds to the list of migrant boat tragedies resulting in the loss of precious lives, with dozens of Pakistanis drowning in multiple incidents in recent months.
In January, more than 40 Pakistanis were killed after a boat carrying irregular migrants from the African nation of Mauritania to Spain capsized.
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.
Before that, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned after boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night between December 13 and 14, 2024.
Driven by socio-economic disparity and the allure of a better lifestyle abroad, illegal migration, despite its risks, continues to draw people to spend a fortune in paying human traffickers to reach Europe.
PM Shehbaz-led government has ordered strict action against smugglers as well as officials involved facilitating them in this cruel practice.
Since then, as many as 35 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials have been dismissed along with a change in the top post after now-former director general Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir was removed from his office over the reportedly slow pace of investigations in the boat capsizing incidents and large scale illegal migration.
Apart from the government measures, Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia has also issued a religious edict against the use of illegal means to travel abroad from Pakistan.
The religious decree, issued by Dr Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi, said that using illegal means to go abroad is not only unlawful but also violates Shariah.
