Morocco boat tragedy deemed 'massacre'

Victims describe brutal ordeal in open sea at the hands of human traffickers

ISLAMABAD:

Survivors of the Morocco boat tragedy have strongly rejected the notion of an accident that took lives of 21 Pakistanis, instead describing the incident as a "massacre" orchestrated by human smugglers.

Express News, while quoting the sources, stated that a four-member Pakistani investigative team has gathered statements from the victims, who described a nightmare scenario where the traffickers held them captive in the open sea.

They alleged that human traffickers deliberately stranded the boat in open waters for days, demanding ransoms. Those who paid were released, while those who couldn't were brutally attacked with hammers and thrown into the sea.

Victims recounted that many passengers died due to the severe cold, violence and lack of food and water. They described the vessel as under the control of an international human trafficking network involving smugglers from Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco.

The Pakistani investigation team in Morocco comprises representatives from the Ministry of Interior, FIA's North Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Intelligence Bureau.

The Foreign Office (FO) confirmed on Thursday that a boat capsized near Morocco, leaving 80 passengers onboard, with over 40 Pakistanis among the dead.

According to migrant rights group Walking Borders, as many as 50 migrants may have perished in the tragedy while attempting to cross from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands.

Moroccan authorities had rescued 36 people the day before, after a boat carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, left Mauritania on January 2. Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno stated on X that 44 of the presumed dead were Pakistani nationals.

She added that the migrants endured 13 days of uncertainty without rescue efforts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a report on the incident and vowed to take strict action against those responsible for human trafficking, asserting that no negligence would be tolerated.

This incident follows the tragic deaths of over 80 Pakistanis in a similar boat capsizing near Greece on December 13-14, 2024. The Greek tragedy led to a strong response from the government, with Prime Minister Sharif directing authorities to crack down on human smuggling.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched operations, arresting 185 human traffickers and agents over the past month, including 38 wanted criminals.

Additionally, FIA Director General Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir dismissed 35 officials for facilitating illegal migration. A report revealed that 20 individuals from Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad airports travelled to Senegal and Saudi Arabia between May and September 2024 under fraudulent circumstances.