• 47 Pakistanis rescued after incident in Greece
• PM vows action against human traffickers
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Sunday stated that one Pakistani national was among the five people who lost their lives when a boat carrying migrants capsized a day earlier in the south of Crete Island, Greece.
According to initial reports, the FO said, a total of 47 Pakistanis had been rescued along with other people following the incident.
“One Pakistani is confirmed to be among the dead. At this stage we are unable to confirm the number of deceased or missing Pakistani nationals,” the FO spokesperson said in a press release.
On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a special cell has been established at Pakistan’s embassy in Greece to address the emergency situation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar is monitoring the activities of identifying and helping the Pakistanis affected by the incident.
Besides, the Pakistani embassy has written a letter to the relevant Greek department.
PM Sharif extended his sympathies, on behalf of the entire nation, to the Pakistani victims and their families.
He said the elements involved in the heinous act of human trafficking will be brought to justice. The Pakistani embassy in Athens was in contact with the Hellenic and Chania’s Coast Guard authorities, which were dealing with the search and rescue operation, the spokesperson said.
Officials of the Pakistan embassy have reached Crete to meet the rescued Pakistanis and provide them with any assistance required.
Families of the missing Pakistanis can contact the Pakistani embassy on +30-6943850188 to seek details of the incident.
Earlier on Saturday, the media reported that a wooden boat carrying migrants capsized off the island of Gavdos in southern Greece, killing at least five of them.
A Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from the boat sailing about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker rescued another 88 migrants off the tiny island in Greece’s south.
Survivors identified
Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the list of 47 Pakistanis rescued after the tragedy.
They are Umer Farooq, Muhammad Ahmad Shahzad, Mohsan Riaz, Talha, Raja Sajid, Raja Omar Nasir, Mehtab Rafaqat, Amir Habib, Muhammad Safdar, Nayyab Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed, Umair Ahsan, Muhammad Bilal, Rahat Dilawar, Manzar Ali, Ahmed Mukhtar, Haroon Asghar, Muzamil Hussain, Jamshaid Ali, Jaffar Iqbal, Muhammad Majid, Muhammad Salman, Qasim Ali, Muhammad Abdullah, Osama Ali, Husnain Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Hammad, Hassan Ali, Bilal Hussain, Sarmad Akbar, Usman Ahmad, Shoaib Mushtaq, Abdul Hanan, Ali Hamza, Fahad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Abdul Latif Rehman, Salman Khalid, Harmain Ali, Zain Ali, Usama Basharat, Mirza Kamran, Muhammad Waqas, Syfyan Zulfiqar, Tahir Raza, Shahroz Ali and Shahzeel Ahmad.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) in Islamabad to facilitate Pakistanis in Greece regarding the incident.
Pakistani nationals in Greece and their families may contact the CMU on this phone number in Islamabad: 051-9207887.
They can also contact via email: cmu1@mofa.gov.pk.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi directed an immediate investigation into the incident. He constituted an inquiry committee under the leadership of Additional Secretary Interior Riffat Mukhtar Raja.
Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2024
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