A Pakistani man who drowned along with 12 national companions when a boat that transported migrants overturned in Northwest Africa was buried in his hometown on Thursday.
Each year, thousands of Pakistanis pay great sums to traffickers of people for risky and illegal trips to Europe in search of work and better opportunities to support their families.
Unfortunately, Pakistani are often among those who drown in overpopulated boats in the Mediterranean Sea, the most fatal migrant route in the world.
This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 13 of its citizens were among the victims of a boat tragedy that occurred in the Atlantic Ocean.
The boat, which had about 80 passengers on board, left Mauritania in the direction of the Canary Islands of Spain. However, he overturned near the port of the Western Sahara of Dakhla on January 16.
On Thursday, Arslan Khan, one of the four repatriated bodies of the shipwreck, was buried in the town of Mirza Virkan in the east of Punjab. His brother, Adnan Khan, shared the anguish and said: “We sent Arslan to build a better future, and the trafficker assured us that he would legally send him. We sold our properties and animals for his future, but the treacherous betrayed us: he sent our brother’s body. “
According to the sources of the Pakistani embassy in Morocco, the initial reports of January 15 suggested that 44 Pakistanis had died in the boat accident. However, local authorities recovered only 13 bodies from the scene.
The Pakistani embassy in Morocco worked with local officials to facilitate the identification process. The data and photographs of fingerprints were shared with Nadra, which verified the identities of the victims. Once the confirmation was completed, the official lists were compiled and launched.
Identified victims include:
Sufyan Ali (Son of Javed Iqbal) – Passport No. VF1812352
Sajad Ali (Son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport No. XX1836111
Rais Afzal (Son of Muhammad Afzal) – Passport No. MJ1516091
Qasnain Haider (Son of Muhammad Banaras) – Passport No. AA6421773
Muhammad Waqas (Sonullah’s son) – Passport No. DJ6315471
Muhammad Akram (Son of Ghulam Rasool) – Passport No. DN0151754
Muhammad Arsalan Khan (Son of Ramzan Khan) – Passport No. LM4153261
Hamid Shabbir (Son of Ghulam Shabbir) – Passport No. CZ5133683
Qaiser Iqbal (Son of Muhammad Iqbal) – Passport No. Gr1331413
Danish Rehman (Son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport No. Se9154371
Muhammad Sajawal (Son of Rahim Deen) – Passport No. Ay559361
Shehzad Ahmed (Son of Wilayat Hussain) – Passport No. Gn1162802
Ehtesham (Son of Tariq Mehmood) – Passport No. CE1170122
Pakistan has one of the highest emigration rates in the world, with many migrants from Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmira, where communities have long -standing ties with Europe.
According to the United Nations International Migration Organization, it is estimated that 40,000 Pakistani try illegal migration every year.
In June 2023, the Mediterranean saw one of its most mortal shipwrecks, when an overloaded drag that transported more than 750 people, including up to 350 Pakistani, sank. Only 82 bodies were recovered.
