PM vows action against human traffickers after latest Libya boat tragedy

• Saddened by reports of yet another boat capsizing incident: PM.
• Premier says authorities working to retrieve remains of deceased.
• "We will continue to come down hard against such elements." 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of four Pakistani nationals in a boat capsizing incident in Libya, reiterating his government’s commitment to act against human traffickers.

A vessel carrying foreign nationals sank near the Harawa coast of Sirte in eastern Libya, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday, confirming that four Pakistani nationals were among the 11 bodies recovered.

“Deeply saddened by reports from our Mission in Tripoli of yet another boat capsizing incident off the Harawa coast near Sirte City, Eastern Libya, in which at least four Pakistanis have been confirmed dead out of 11 casualties,” the prime minister wrote on his X timeline.

He said that Pakistan’s Mission in Tripoli and the FO were working with the local authorities to retrieve the remains of the deceased.

“While we are taking strong action against those responsible for luring our citizens into this death trap, we will continue to come down hard against such elements so no family has to carry the coffins of their loved ones in such accidents,” he reiterated.

Earlier, the foreign ministry said it activated Crisis Management Unit to monitor the situation. For any assistance and information, people can contact at: 051-9207887 and [email protected].

Fatal sinkings persist

The latest incident adds to the list of migrant boat tragedies resulting in the loss of precious lives, with dozens of Pakistanis drowning in multiple incidents in recent months.

On February 11, at least 16 Pakistanis were confirmed dead, and 10 others remained missing after a boat carrying illegal migrants met with a deadly accident in the same waters off the Libyan coast.

Earlier in January, more than 40 Pakistanis were killed after a boat carrying irregular migrants from the African nation of Mauritania to Spain capsized.

The ill-fated boat departed from Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants on board. Moroccan authorities reported that 66 of the passengers were Pakistani nationals and noted that it had rescued 36 people after the accident.

Before that, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned after boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night between December 13 and 14, 2024.

Driven by socio-economic disparity and the allure of a better lifestyle abroad, illegal migration, despite its risks, continues to draw people to spend a fortune in paying human traffickers to reach Europe.

PM Shehbaz-led government has ordered strict action against smugglers as well as officials involved in facilitating them in this cruel practice.

Since then, as many as 35 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials have been dismissed, along with a change in the top post after now-former director general Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir was removed from his office over the reportedly slow pace of investigations in the boat capsizing incidents and large-scale illegal migration.

Apart from the government measures, Lahore's Jamia Naeemia has also issued a religious edict against the use of illegal means to travel abroad from Pakistan.

The religious decree, issued by Dr Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi, said that using illegal means to go abroad is not only unlawful but also violates Shariah.