Bodies of boat tragedy victims arrive

Seven men from Gujrat had illegally departed on February 21, 22 in a boat bound for Italy

GUJRAT/ KALA SHAH KAKU:

Bodies of the five youths who died in the Libya boat tragedy were received by their respective families in the two districts.

However, relatives of another three young people were still waiting for the bodies of their loved ones. Four youths were buried during heart-wrenching scenes.

Seven young people from Gujrat had departed from the district on February 21 and 22 for Italy via Dubai and Libya illegally in a boat.

The bodies of 22-year-old Muhammad Ali of village Bhojpur, 26-year-old Muhammad Owais of Gujrat city, 30-year-old Tauqir of Kunjah and 30-year-old Ansar Farooq of Sarai Alamgir had earlier been handed over to their relatives at the Allama Iqbal International Airport at Lahore a few days ago.

Kala Shah Kaku

The body of Hasham Butar, a young man of Canal Park area of Shah Muridke, who was among the victims of the boat tragedy, arrived in the country on Tuesday.

Gloom descended on his house when his body arrived there where his three sisters, two brothers, elderly parents and relatives were grappling to come to terms with the tragedy that had befallen them.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people in the district protested against the government and the so-called travel agents.

Hasham Butar, along with his cousin, Zulqadar Maan, had boarded the ill-fated boat en route to Italy, but little did he know that his body would return home.

His uncles, Shaukat Ali and Islam Butar, and a brother, Zeeshan Maan, told this scribe that an agent from Gujrat had taken Rs2 million from each passenger promising them transportation to Italy.

They said that the agent first took the men to Libya where he demanded another Rs5 million after subjecting them to violence.

They said that the additional money was given to the brother of the agent in Gujarat. Hasham died in the accident while his cousin Zulqadar Maan survived and is currently in Italian police custody.

To bring back the body of Hasham, the same agent took another Rs2.5 million, the bereaved family said, demanding of the government to arrest all those people who had been involved in the illegal business of human trafficking.

Later, Hasham was buried in his ancestral village Kartoo Sharif in the presence of hundreds of mourners.

It was reported on these pages several days ago that the FIA had arrested three suspects of an organised gang for their alleged involvement in the Libya boat accident.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2023.