The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday confirmed that at least seven Pakistanis lost their lives in a tragic boat capsizing incident near Libya.
According to FIA officials, the deceased have been identified through their passports. Six of them were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, while one hailed from Bajaur.
This confirmation follows a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), which reported that a boat carrying around 65 passengers overturned near Marsa Dela, northwest of Zawiya City in Libya. Among them, 16 were Pakistani nationals.
To assist with the identification process, the Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli dispatched a team to Zawiya Hospital. Meanwhile, the ministry activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) to monitor the situation and provided a helpline (051-9207887) for inquiries. Additional contact numbers for embassy officials in Tripoli were also shared for those seeking information.
Expressing deep concern over the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Foreign Office and Pakistan’s mission in Libya to investigate the matter and keep the public informed. He also vowed to take strict action against those responsible for human trafficking, emphasizing that no negligence would be tolerated.
This disaster is the latest in a string of migrant boat accidents claiming Pakistani lives. In January, over 40 Pakistanis perished when a vessel carrying irregular migrants from Mauritania to Spain capsized. Before that, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned when boats sank off the coast of Greece in December 2024.
Despite the severe risks, illegal migration continues to attract individuals hoping for a better life abroad. The Pakistani government has responded by intensifying its crackdown on human smugglers. Since then, 35 FIA officials have been dismissed, and former FIA Director General Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir was removed from office over delays in investigating illegal migration networks.
Additionally, Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia issued a religious decree (fatwa) condemning illegal migration. Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi declared that using unlawful means to travel abroad is both illegal and against Islamic teachings.
The government remains committed to curbing human smuggling and preventing further tragedies.
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