(CTN NEWS) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared Monday (tomorrow) to be a national day of mourning in response to the unfortunate occurrence in which a boat carrying migrants collapsed off the coast of Greece, killing several people, including Pakistanis.
The unfortunate vessel, which had between 400 and 750 people on board, sank in the Mediterranean Sea not far from the Greek shore, killing at least 78 people.
According to the most recent news sources, 104 individuals were saved and brought to Kalamata, Greece.
Tomorrow will be celebrated as a national day of grief, the Prime Minister’s Office announced in a notification.
It was stated that all significant buildings will fly the national flag at half-mast.
PM Forms Committee To Investigate The Tragic Incident
A high-level committee made up of four people has been assembled by the prime minister to look into the terrible boat capsize incident off the coast of Greece.
The National Police Bureau Director General Ehsan Sadiq, who will serve as the committee’s chair, Minister of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary (Africa) Javed Ahmed Umrani, AJK’s Police Region Poonch Deputy Inspector General Sardar Zaheer Ahemed, and FIA’s Joint Secretary Faisal Nisar Chaudhry will make up the committee.
Within a week, the committee must present its report.
According to its mandate, the committee will investigate the facts surrounding the Greece boat tragedy in order to identify any gaps or failures in Pakistan’s legal system or enforcement apparatus that may have exposed valuable human lives to the whims of human trafficking in this particular case or in previous instances.
It will examine historical occurrences and responses to comparable ones.
The forum will also assess the country’s current legal framework, enforcement measures, and international coordination for the prevention, control, and punishment of human smuggling.
It will then prepare short- and long-term recommendations, including legislation, enforcement measures, public awareness campaigns, and improved national and international coordination to catch agents, facilitators, masterminds, and rackets and to eradicate the threat of human trafficking.
It is important to note that 12 Pakistanis were among the survivors of the capsized, overloaded fishing boat that sank off the Peloponnese in southern Greece, as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
PM Shehbaz was cited as saying today in a press statement from the media department of the Prime Minister Office, “Sympathies of the entire nation, including me, are with the families of the deceased.”
According to the report, the premier gave the go-ahead for the investigation while directing the relevant authorities to tighten the noose on those responsible for luring people into risky industries like human trafficking.
It went on to say that the premier also commanded a swift crackdown against the agents responsible for the terrible crime and their appropriate punishment.
Confirmed Survived Pakistanis
Additionally, PM Shehbaz instructed the Pakistani Embassy in Greece to look after the 12 Pakistanis who had been saved during the event.
Sajid Mehmood, the main suspect in the Greek boat tragedy, was detained at Karachi Airport on Saturday while attempting to flee to Azerbaijan, according to the FIA.
The suspect, according to the FIA, was reportedly involved in transporting individuals into Europe through Libya and Greece. His name was added to the FIA’s stop list after he was offloaded from a plane, the officials continued.
The federal agency added that the same person was also reportedly responsible for the March boating accident in Libya.
Nine Egyptians were detained by the Greek police on suspicion of smuggling people on Thursday; one of them was the boat’s skipper.
According to the Greek news agency ANA, they were arrested at the port of Kalamata, where the survivors are receiving medical attention.
Tens of thousands of individuals who are trying to go to Europe typically land in Greece, Italy, or Spain.
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