ISLAMABAD: A boat carrying dozens of passengers, including Pakistanis, capsized in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday.
The legal status of the passengers aboard the vessel has yet to be confirmed, as the ministry’s spokesperson stated that Pakistani officials are working to gather details.
In its statement, the Foreign Office said a vessel carrying approximately 65 passengers capsized near the port of Marsa Dela, northwest of Zawiya City, Libya.
The Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli dispatched a team to Zawiya Hospital to assist the local authorities in the identification of the deceased, the ministry said.
The Foreign Office added that the embassy was trying to ascertain further details of the Pakistani affectees.
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The ministry’s Crisis Management Unit (CMU) has been activated to monitor the situation with people advised to contact at 051-9207887 helpline.
Meanwhile, the relevant officials in Tripoli can be contacted on 03052185882 (WhatsApp), +218913870577 (cellphone) and +218 91-6425435(WhatsApp).
The latest incident adds to the list of migrant boat tragedies resulting in loss of precious lives with dozens of Pakistanis drowning in multiple incidents in recent months.
In January, more than 40 Pakistanis were killed after a boat carrying irregular migrants from the African nation of Mauritania to Spain capsized.
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.
Before that, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned after boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night between December 13 and 14, 2024.
Driven by socio-economic disparity and the allure of a better lifestyle abroad, illegal migration, despite its risks, continues to draw people to spend a fortune in paying human traffickers to reach Europe.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has ordered strict action against smugglers as well as officials involved facilitating them in this cruel practice.
Since then, as many as 35 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials have been dismissed along with a change in the top post after now-former director general Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir was removed from his office over the reportedly slow pace of investigations in the boat capsizing incidents and large scale illegal migration.
Apart from the government measures, Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia has also issued a religious edict against the use of illegal means to travel abroad from Pakistan.
The religious decree, issued by Dr Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi, said that using illegal means to go abroad is not only unlawful but also violates Shariah.
It said that committing suicide or taking any step that threatens one’s life is against the principles of Islamic Shariah.
Anyone who ends his life or takes a step that leads to his death could never be allowed in Islam under any circumstances, the decree said and advised people considering going abroad to use legal and safe means for going to other countries.
It further stated that it is unlawful for any agent or middleman to take money for any such act of illegal foreign travel, and called upon the government to adopt a law to act against agents who endanger the innocent lives of the countrymen.
