Islamabad, Jun. 19, (dpa/GNA) – Pakistan on Monday observed a day of national mourning for the death of around 300 people from the South Asian nation in a shipwreck off the Greek coast last week as the country intensified a crackdown against human traffickers.
The national flag was at half mast, parliament condemned the accident and the atmosphere was sombre as political and social leaders expressed solidarity with the families of victims.
There was no official word on how many Pakistanis were presumed drowned in the tragedy that occurred last week, but at least two officials told dpa the number might be around 300.
“It is heart-wrenching,” Defence Minister Khwaja Asif said in a speech to parliament in the capital Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called for national mourning and ordered authorities to launch a crackdown on human traffickers.
“We have arrested more than a dozen human smugglers since the boat tragedy,” said Rana Abdul Jabbar from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that deals with the immigration.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Pakistan would seek Interpol’s help to break the nexus of human smugglers in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Libya and Greece.
Families of the victims, mostly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the central province of Punjab, anxiously waited for information about the fate of their loved ones still considered missing.
Thousands of young Pakistanis pay millions of rupees to human traffickers and risk their lives to reach Europe through dangerous routes that go through Iran, Turkey, Libya, Greece and Italy.
GNA