TAXILA: The bodies of two men belonging to Hazro, who fell prey to human smugglers, were brought home after over one month of their deaths on Friday.

Danish Khan, 27, and Qari Mohammad Hanif, 38, lost their lives between July 5-6 when their boat capsized and sank off the Chinese coast while trying to reach Hong Kong through illegal channels. However, two of their colleagues survived and landed in a Chinese jail.

The funerals of the two persons were offered in their native villages of Jalliya and Shah Dheer and attended by a large number of people, including students from the seminary of Qari Hanif.

With tears rolling down his face, Mohammad Ayub, brother of Qari Hanif, said he was father of three and a religious teacher.

His family borrowed Rs1.50 million from relatives to pay to the human smugglers to get Qari across the risky waters. He added that earlier many men of the Chach area had sneaked into Hong Kong with the help of the same agent. He said the family was earlier informed that both were shot dead while illegally crossing a border. But according to the death certificates issued by the Chinese health authorities and volunteers who gave them the last bath, there was no bullet wound on their bodies.

Danish Khan’s brother Mohammad Kamran, while talking to newsmen said, “our poverty forced us to take this decision”.

He said that two of their companions identified as Mohammad Mushtaq from Weesa village and Uzair from Mallah village of tehsil Hazro were behind bars in Chinese jail and the actual reasons behind death of the two colleagues would be revealed after they return to Pakistan.

Nisar Ali Khan said after the news of the tragic incident broke out, the family members and notables of the area contacted Babar Taimour Khan, a businessman in Hong Kong, who confirmed the incident.

He said that Assistant Director China Desk at Foreign Office Hafiz Hamza and Director China Desk Zulfiqar played key roles in contacting Chinese authorities to bring back the bodies of the two dwellers of Hazro. He said Member National Assembly from Hazro Sheikh Aftab Ahmed also played his role in promptly releasing funds worth Rs10 million from the Punjab government to bear the expenses of the repartition of the bodies.

When contacted, an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s anti-human smuggling cell said that according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Pakistan had one of the highest rates of emigration in the world.

Responding to a question, he said that in the 1980s and 1990s it was quite easy to travel from Quetta via Iran and then to Turkey and from there to Greece or some other European countries.

He said that in 2023, over 8,565 people lost their lives on illegal migration routes globally, marking the deadliest year on record as reported by the IOM.

Moreover, the family members of Mushtaq and Uzair who are behind bars in Chinese jail have appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad to play their key role in bringing back their loved ones on humanitarian grounds.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024