Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered a crackdown against human smugglers as the country announced a day of mourning for the victims of the Greece boat tragedy, several of whom were from Pakistan.
An overloaded boat carrying around 750 people, aiming to enter Europe illegally, sank in open seas off Greece. Over 300 Pakistani nationals have been feared drowned.
So far, at least 12 Pakistanis have been found alive, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said. The chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, in a statement said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we pray that the departed souls find eternal peace,” he said. “This devastating incident underscores the urgent need to address and condemn the abhorrent act of illegal human trafficking,” Sanjrani added.
Pakistan's economic crisis
Pakistan's growth has stalled and the country is currently facing its worst economic crisis in decades. Inflation has soared and it is trying to secure a financial lifeline from the International Monetary Fund complicated by political turmoil in the country. There's also been a rise in unemployment due to the closure of factories.
The country has struggled to import essential food products, leading to deadly stampedes at distribution centres, CNN reported. Due to the dire economic state the country is in, thousands from poverty-stricken families have been paying human smugglers huge amounts, to be transported to European nations.
In March, about 150 people including a famous Pakistani female athlete, Shahida Raza, and nationals from Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan were when their boat was wrecked off the coast of Italy.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Sunday, ordered a 'high-level inquiry' into the incident. “I assure the nation that those found negligent towards their duty will be held to account. Responsibility will be fixed after the inquiry and heads will roll,” Sharif tweeted.
Pakistanis ‘were forced below deck’
The United Nations Migration Agency (IOM), 750 people were packed on the boat. The incident is one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. According to leaked testimonies by survivors and coastguards, Pakistanis were forced below deck, while other nationalities were allowed on the top deck, where they had a far greater chance of surviving a capsize, the Guardian reported.
Reportedly, women and children were “locked up” in the hold. The boat also had migrants from Syria and Egypt. Of the 298 Pakistanis that died, 135 were from the Pakistani side of Kashmir. A total of 400 Pakistanis were on board. So far, only 12 of the 78 survivors were from Pakistan.
Reportedly, conditions were bleak on the boat, even before it capsized. The trawler had run out of fresh water, which had caused 6 deaths. Government officials said that patrol boats and cargo ships had been shadowing the trawler since the afternoon of June 13.
The Guardian quoted Maurice Stierl, of the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies as saying, that “many EU countries of ‘weaponising time’ by delaying rescue as long as they can, or what he called a ‘phase of strategic neglect and abandonment’.”
What really happened?
Tens of thousands of people continue to undertake perilous journeys to Europe, searching for a better life; despite countries toughening their borders and their stance towards migrants.
On June 15, when the tragedy occurred, Greek coastguards reportedly attempted to tow it to shore, an accusation Greece has denied. According to a CNN report, the coastguard threw a rope to the vessel to “stabilize and check if it needed help.” The rope was tied in the wrong places, which caused it to capsize.
According to Greek authorities, the boat capsized after its engine broke down. The coast guard arrived two hours before the incident and there is no connection between the coast guard and the capsize.
“The engine broke down at 1:40 a.m. and at 2:00 a.m. it sank – therefore there can be no connection between (the coast guard approaching the boat and the time of its sinking),” Greek government spokesperson Ilias Siakanderis told Greek national broadcaster ERT.
Tarek Aldroobi, a man who had three relatives on board, told CNN, “Their boat was in a good condition and the Greek navy tried towing them to the beach but the ropes were tied in the wrong places,” Aldroobi said. “When the Greek navy tried pulling them it caused the boat to capsize.”
The coastguard defended itself and said, “When the boat capsized, we were not even next to the boat. How could we be towing it?” Nikos Alexiou, a spokesman for the coast guard said. “Regretfully there was movement of people, a shift in weight probably caused by panic and the boat capsized. As soon as we got there, we started our rescue operation to collect those who were in the water,” he added.
-- With PTI inputs
