FIA registers case against accused involved in Greek boat tragedy

GUJRANWALA: Following action against human traffickers after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Greek coast on Saturday, the FIA Gujranwala has registered a case under the Human Trafficking Act against four accused, including a woman.

Four Pakistanis drowned in the waters, while 47 Pakistanis were amongst the survivors who were rescued. Most of them belong to Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

As per FIA, the accused in the Gujranwala case include Qamar Zaman alias Khuram Jajja, Usman, Asif Jajja, and Sofia Ashiq. The group attempted to send a young man named Sufiyan through ‘illegal’ means to Italy via boat from Libya. The accused in Gujranwala had received Rs24 lakh from the young man to send him to the European city. All four who have been booked belong to the same family and have been running a human trafficking racket for a long time, operating from various countries.

Also read: 4 Pakistanis confirmed dead in migrant boat disaster off Greece’s Gavdos Island

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier in a statement had confirmed the death of four Pakistanis in the south of Crete Island of Greece. it further stated that the mission in Athens was collaborating with the Greek authorities to repatriate the dead bodies, and assist the survivors.

The deceased were identified as Muhammad Suf­yan, Haji Ahmed, Rehman Ali and Mohammad Abid.

Human trafficking is not an uncommon practice, as many people from the Global South attempt to enter European borders through an ‘illegal’ passage which is also called ‘donkey route’ by locals in both Pakistan and India.

Also read: At least 89 bodies found after migrant boat capsizes

Last year, more than a hundred Pakistanis drowned off the Greek shore when an overloaded boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the witnesses, the fishing boat with limited capacity was carrying around 400 to 750 people. While the disaster was dubbed as one of the worst one in years, it seems that it was not able to deter Pakistanis from attempting to cross the borders risking their lives.

The FIA then also took action and registered more than 50 cases against human smugglers in Gujrat, Lahore and Gujranwala, and said that a plan was being devised to prevent such incidents in future.