Gujranwala court hands down 20-year sentence in Libya boat tragedy

GUJRANWALA:

In the case of the Libya boat incident, a court has sentenced the main culprit to 20 years in prison and fined him Rs4.2 million.

The first sentencing in the Libya boat incident, a special court in Gujranwala, has sentenced the main accused, Muhammad Mumtaz, to 20 years in all three cases, along with a fine of Rs4.2 million.

The criminal has been sentenced under the Immigration Ordinance 1979 by the Special Court Judge, Muhammad Naeem Sheikh.

The accused had three separate cases of human smuggling registered against him at the FIA station in Gujranwala.

The accused was alleged to have taken Rs11.1 million from four young men, including two brothers, and was planning to illegally smuggle them into Italy.

The four young men, Muhammad Muneeb, Allah Ditta, Farhad Ali, and Muhammad Tawheed, lost their lives in the boat incident in Libya on June 14, 2023.

The incident claimed the lives of 281 Pakistanis who drowned at sea. Among the drowning victims were over 50 young men from Gujranwala Division. Sajid Akram Chaudhry, Director FIA Gujranwala Zone, stated that efforts were made to ensure that crucial evidence was presented in court so that those involved in such human smuggling could not be granted bail. These individuals play with human lives, leaving families mourning and desperate. Bank statements, documents, phone calls, and investigations were presented in court, and I promised that justice would be served, and the court has given the criminal a harsh sentence.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2024