Greece Shipwreck: Pakistani Authorities Arrest 10 Suspected Traffickers

2023-06-18 10:46:34

Shipwreck of migrants in Greece

Pakistan arrests 10 suspected traffickers

Pakistani authorities announced on Sunday that they had arrested ten people suspected of being involved in human trafficking.

Updated18 June 2023, 12:53

Two people wait to be reunited with their relative who survived the shipwreck in Malakasa, near Athens, on June 16, 2023.

Pakistani authorities announced on Sunday that they had arrested ten people suspected of being involved in human trafficking, after the death of dozens of migrants in the shipwreck of a dilapidated and crowded boat off the coast of Greece. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a crackdown on “individuals engaged in the heinous crime of human trafficking” and promised that the culprits would be “severely punished”, according to a statement from his office.

Every year, thousands of young Pakistanis embark on perilous crossings to Europe where they attempt to enter illegally in search of a better life. Pakistani migrants were on board the trawler which capsized and then sank in fifteen minutes off the Peloponnese on Wednesday morning, killing at least 78 people and hundreds missing.

Strong presence on board

Twelve Pakistanis are among the survivors, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday, although it does not know how many of its nationals were on board. But their number could be more than 200, said an immigration official on condition of anonymity. The estimated number of people on board is between 400 and 750, according to the International Organization for Migration and the High Commission for Refugees.

Nine people “involved in human trafficking operations” were arrested in the Pakistani region of Kashmir, where the majority of the victims originated. Another was arrested in Gujrat in Punjab, a city that has long been a breeding ground for candidates for departure.