Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah promised on Tuesday that the investigation into the Greece boat tragedy would be completed within a week as authorities arrested two more traffickers allegedly involved in human smuggling.

Last week, an Italy-bound fishing trawler reportedly carrying at least 800 people — including hundreds of Pakistanis — capsized off Greece. Only 104 people are known to have survived and the chance of finding more survivors was seen as virtually nil.

Reuters confirmed that the death toll of the tragedy has reached 81 after three more bodies were fished out of the sea.

As the news of the tragedy unfolded, Pakistan observed a mourning day on Monday and the Interior Ministry said special legislation would be passed to prosecute those involved in human smuggling as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cracked down on traffickers across the country.

The Associated Press of Pakistan today quoted the interior minister as saying that the government would take strict against human traffickers and a committee had been formed to probe the incident.

“The investigation committee will present its report in a week after which further action will be taken by the federal government,” he said, elaborating that the panel would ascertain facts pertaining to the Greece boat tragedy.

It would also identify loopholes and lapses in Pakistan’s legal mechanism, that had exposed precious human lives to the “vagaries of human trafficking in this particular case and past incidents”.

“The government will also review short-term and long-term legislation to curb the issue besides envisaging laws for imposing penalties on the people responsible for such kinds of incidents,” the minister added.

He also told Reuters that DNA samples were being collected from families who wanted to come forward voluntarily, and they will be sent to Greece to help with identification.

Earlier, official sources said efforts were underway to identify bodies of Pakistanis through DNA testing, which had kept the families in a state of uncertainty: they are not sure whether their kin were on the boat or in some camp in Libya waiting for the voyage towards Europe.

It may be noted that there were unconfirmed reports about the presence of illegal immigrants in camps of human traffickers in Libya, which was making the identification process complicated. Similarly, these illegal immigrants often travel without having identity documents which further added to complications. The FIA said that it might take weeks in tracing and confirming the identity of the missing victims.

‘Agent’ apprehended

Separately, in a statement issued today, an FIA spokesperson said the agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Gujranwala had apprehended an “agent” involved in the boat tragedy.

He said the captured suspect, identified as agent Azmat Ali, had received a sum of Rs1.7 million for facilitating the victims’ illegal journey to Europe, adding that a case had been registered against him and further investigation was underway.

The agency also said that raids were being conducted to arrest other suspects.

Earlier, the Punjab police said in a statement that a “key suspect” involved in the Greece shipwreck had been arrested.

“Mumtaz Arain was taken into custody from Vehari and has been handed over to the FIA for further questioning,” a police spokesperson said, adding that the suspect’s mobile data, documents and other important evidence were also seized during the operation.

He added that the police obtained the mobile phone of another primary suspect, Aslam, from Arain’s possession as well.

FIA to launch awareness campaign on social, electronic media

Meanwhile, the seventh meeting of FIA’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) was held at the agency’s headquarters today. Presided by FIA Director General (DG) Mohsin Hasan Butt, the meeting was attended by various officials from concerned ministries, departments and institutions who expressed regret over the loss of life in the shipwreck.

During the meeting, DG Butt emphasised developing a central database of agents and human traffickers, according to a statement released by the agency.

He said that spreading awareness was essential to eradicating human trafficking.

To that end, the officials agreed to launch an awareness campaign on electronic and social media to prevent human trafficking; organise seminars in Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujarat and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in collaboration with civil society for public awareness and stressed the initiation of information campaigns to alert the public about pursuing overseas employment in a legal manner.

“Ending a heinous crime like human trafficking is possible with the cooperation of institutions. Eradicating human trafficking from the region is impossible without international cooperation,” the press release quoted the FIA DG as saying.

The meeting’s participants also agreed on taking strict action against the human traffickers involved in the incident. They deliberated on the IATF using modern technology to prevent human trafficking.

The officials further emphasised using effective strategies for sharing information and intelligence-based operations to prevent the factors involved in the promotion of human trafficking.

The press release said the FIA would take special steps to train officers of other agencies regarding human trafficking, adding that it was also reiterated in the meeting to work with international organisations to prevent the menace.

Among other topics discussed, the meeting’s participants focused on introducing a modern system for the movement of citizens at the border, affirmed that strict action would be pursued against unregistered employment promoters and decided that the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment would provide records of unregistered agents.

“At the end of the meeting, the participants expressed their commitment to mutual cooperation in preventing human trafficking, sharing information about human traffickers and increasing the capacity of officers,” the press release concluded.

Turkiye’s Erdogan extends condolences

State broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a telephonic conversation with PM Shehbaz, expressed grief and sorrow over the deaths of Pakistanis in the Greece boat tragedy.

He extended his condolences to the bereaved families on behalf of the Turkish government and people. Erdogan also prayed for the departed souls.

“In his remarks, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan values the sentiments of the Turkish president and people at this hour of difficulty,” the report added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he held a “useful conversation” with his Greek counterpart on the shipwreck tragedy.

“Agreed to closely work together to facilitate Pakistanis in distress and for the identification and repatriation of retrieved bodies,” he tweeted.

‘50 Gujrat men missing’

Meanwhile, at least 50 people who had left for Europe with the help of traffickers have been missing and their families feared that they were on the ill-fated that sank near Greece.

At least 11 of them belonged to Kharian, 16 belonged to Goleki, Qasimabad, and Kot Qutab Din villages in the jurisdiction of the Kunjah police, five hailed from the areas of Gujrat’s Sadar and Shaheen Chowk police stations, seven people belonged to localities in the jurisdiction of Rehmania and Kakrali police stations whereas at least 10 people belonged to different villages in Sara-i-Alamgir.