A Pakistani man who drowned with 12 colleagues national when a boat carrying migrants capsized northwestern Africa was buried on Thursday in his hometown.
Each year, thousands of Pakistani pay significant sums to human traffickers for risky and illegal trips to Europe in search of work and better opportunities to support their families.
Unfortunately, Pakistanis are often among those who drown in overcrowded boats on the Mediterranean Sea, the most deadly migrant itinerary in the world.
This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 13 of its citizens were one of the victims of a boat tragedy that occurred in the Atlantic Ocean.
The boat, which had around 80 passengers on board, left Mauritania towards the Spanish Canary Islands. However, he capsized near the wearing of Western Sahara in Dakhla on January 16.
On Thursday, Arslan Khan, one of the four repatriated organizations in the sinking, was buried in the village of Mirza Virkan in eastern Punjab. His brother, Adnan Khan, shared the sorrow, saying: “We sent Arslan to build a better future, and the trafficker assured us that he would send him legally. We sold our goods and animals for his future, but the trafficker betrayed us – he sent our brother’s corpse. »»
According to sources at the Pakistani Embassy in Morocco, the first reports on January 15 suggested that 44 Pakistanis died in the boat accident. However, local authorities have only recovered 13 bodies on the scene.
The Pakistani Embassy in Morocco has worked with local officials to facilitate the identification process. The data and photographs of the fingerprints were shared with Nadra, which checked the identity of the victims. Once the confirmation is completed, the official lists were compiled and released.
The victims identified include:
Sufyan Ali (Son of Javed Iqbal) – Passport N ° VF1812352
Sajjad Ali (Son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport n ° xx18361111
Afzal grapes (Son of Muhammad AFZAL) – Passport N ° MJ1516091
Qasnain Haider (Son of Muhammad Banaras) – Passport n ° AA6421773
Muhammad Waqas (Son of Sanaullah) – Passport n ° DJ6315471
Muhammad Akram (Son of Ghumam Rasol) – Passport No.0151754
Muhammad Arsalan Khan (Son of Ramzan Khan) – Passport n ° LM4153261
Hamid Shabbir (Son of Ghumam Shabbir) – Passport n ° CZ51336833
Qaiser iqbal (Son of Muhammad Iqbal) – Passport n ° GR1331413
Rehman Danish (Son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport n ° SE9154371
Muhammad Sajawal (Son of Rahim Deen) – Passport n ° AY5593661
Shehzad Ahmed (Wilayat Hussain’s son) – Passport N ° GN1162802
Ehtesham (Son of Tariq Mehmood) – Passport No. CE1170122
Pakistan has one of the highest emigration rates in the world, many migrants from Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where communities have long -standing links with Europe.
According to the International United Nations Migration Organization, around 40,000 Pakistanis are trying illegal migration each year.
In June 2023, the Mediterranean saw one of its deadliest wrecks, when an overloaded trawler carrying more than 750 people, including up to 350 Pakistanis, sank. Only 82 bodies have been recovered.
