By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani survivors of the Morocco boat tragedy have claimed it was a premeditated massacre orchestrated by human traffickers, according to preliminary statements recorded by a four-member Pakistani investigative team, madia reported.
The survivors revealed that human smugglers kept the boat stranded in open waters for several days, demanding ransom. “Those who paid were released, while those who couldn’t were beaten with hammers and thrown into the sea,” they stated.
The victims also disclosed that many passengers died due to cold weather, lack of food, and physical assault. “The boat was under the control of an international human trafficking ring, involving smugglers from Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco,” sources said.
The investigative team, comprising officials from the interior ministry, foreign ministry, information and broadcasting ministry, along with FIA, are currently in Morocco to probe the incident.
Reports indicate that most of the casualties occurred due to severe weather and violence on the overcrowded boat. Survivors faced dire conditions, including food and water shortages, during their ordeal.
Earlier, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday issued a list of 21 Pakistani nationals identified among the survivors of a maritime incident near Dakhla, Morocco.
The ministry said the survivors were identified based on verified information.
Pakistani nationals Muddassir Hussain, Waseem Khalid, Muhammad Khaliq, Abdul Ghaffar, Gul Shameer, Tanveer Ahmed, Syed Muhammad Abbas Kazmi, Ghulam Mustafa, Syed Badar Mohy ud din, Imran Iqbal, Shoaib Zafar, Ali Hassan, Syed Mehtab Ul Hassan, Uzair Basharat, Mohammad Asif, Mujahid Ali, Amir Ali, Mohammad Umar Farooqie, Bilawal Iqbal, Arsalan and Irfan Ahmad are among those who survived.
The tragic incident took place on January 16 when a boat carrying irregular migrants from the African nation of Mauritania to Spain capsized. 50 migrants, including 44 Pakistanis, lost their lives in this mishap.
Although, as many as 36 Pakistani citizens were rescued, the rest still remain missing who, as per a report from the Pakistani Embassy, should be presumed dead.
The ill-fated boat departed from Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants on board. Moroccan authorities reported that 66 of the passengers were Pakistani nationals and noted that it had rescued 36 people after the accident.
The development came against the backdrop of another similar incident where more than 80 Pakistanis drowned after boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night between December 13 and 14, 2024.
The Greek boat tragedy prompted a strong reaction from the government with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directing the authorities to take strict action against those involved in human smuggling.
Since then, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has carried out mass arrests and operations against the human smuggling mafia and its officials involved in facilitating them.
