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Morocco tragedy: not a capsize, Pakistanis tortured and murdered


KHARIAN: “They sped the boat through the sea for three days and nights, and then suddenly they stopped. We were in the middle of the waters, as those behind the wheel demanded us to pay more money, torturing by stabbing, gorging out eyes and murdering the passengers, dumping their bodies in the sea.” These words were conveyed through Syed Mehtab Shah, who is one of the 21 Pakistani survivors of the Morocco boat tragedy in which around 30 Pakistanis have lost their lives.

Unlike other boat tragedies, however, this one has a different story.

Contrary to the findings shared earlier that the boat had capsized or was faulty, it appears that the ‘agents’ who were to take the passengers from Mauritania to Spain brutally killed more than 30 before giving up when help arrived. The survivors are currently in the hospital under police’s custody while fact-finding teams from Pakistan have already arrived to assist them.

Source: Institute of Security Studies

Hailing from small villages near the city of Lala Musa in Gujarat, 12 men, with some as young as 19-years-old, set out to improve their lives in Europe, taking the treacherous journey through the waters bordering Morocco and Spain. Little did they know, that they would not be returning home to their families.

A year or so ago, a man named Fahad garnered a lot of trust for he had successfully taken a batch of youth to Spain. Feeling inspired to reach the grass that looks greener on the other side, many men from villages of Jora, Gurko and Dola signed up to do the same. Fahad, who had taken PKR 30lacs from his previous Dunkee batch demanded PKR 40lacs from the current group. These included six from Jora, three from Dola and three from Gurko.

-Fahad, agent

Atif, 34 and Aqib, 35 both cousins belonged to Dola and their maternal uncle paid Fahad a sum of 40 lacs each to take them to Spain. The others are Jaani (24), Shahzad (28), Rehan (35), Ali Raza (19), Abu Bakr (22), Umar Farooq (35) and Zulfiqar (22) belonged to other two villages.

“On July 31, 2024 these young men arrived at Faisalabad Airport to fly off to Mauritania. They were given clearance by the FIA officials present there reflecting the involvement of local agencies to facilitate human trafficking. My brother Umar Farooq was one of them,” said Farooq’s grieving brother Shahbaz. Fahad attempted to take his second batch through the waters twice but had to return without success till the third time when the group headed to the waters.

Abu Bakr

According to the details shared by Shah’s aide from Morroco, on January 3, 2025 a total of 85 men from Mauritania had boarded the boat on, which had the capacity to accommodate just 45 of them. After the boat came to a halt in the middle of the sea, it was revealed that the agents who are said to hail from a country in Africa demanded more money from the passengers.

“At night they would tie us up and beat us with whatever tools they could find, be it a wrench, a hammer or knife. Being 400 kilometres from the coast of Morocco, we stayed at the sea for 13-days and were rescued by fishermen who arrived. Two of us even jumped into the waters to save themselves to no avail. Once the fishermen got help for us, the other agents leading the boat started to claim there was a fault with the boat when there wasn’t any in the first place. Even the sea was calm. But finally, 22 of us survived,” the audio message stated.

– Ali Raza

According to Shahbaz, the men who drowned did not die because of capsizing rather they were brutally tortured to the point where they either succumbed to wounds, hunger and exhaustion.

-Umar Farooq

“These agents took away food, clothes, and phones from the passengers, threatening to kill them if more funds were not ensured and provided. They would randomly stab people and let them die on the boat, dumping their bodies in the open sea,” he shared.

Abu Bakr, who leaves behind two children, one being an infant wanted to a better life for his family and had set out to seek opportunities.

The FIA officials as well as the fact-finding team is yet to provide a statement confirming or denying this development. FIA official Aijaz Sandhu had assured that he would provide details and also provide a copy of the FIR filed against the agent Fahad but there has been no avail in that regards.

For now, they have arrested Fahad’s mother Ghulam Fatima on the account of her role in facilitating her son and receiving the money on his behalf. As per the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to confiscate assets of these human trafficking agents, FIA officials also taken away Fahad’s car.

The families meanwhile await their loved ones, some alive and kicking, others for their remains to be buried.

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