Greece shipwreck: FIA arrests 'key suspects' involved in human trafficking

The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) on Monday arrested at least two 'key suspects' involved in human trafficking in relation to the Greece boat tragedy from Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin and registered a first information report (FIR) against the human smugglers. The accused, Waqas Ahmad from Wazirabad and Sajid Mehmood from Mandi Bahauddin, are alleged to have been involved in the smuggling of the victims of a drowning incident in Greece. Waqas is alleged to have conspired with other accomplices to traffic several individuals to Europe in exchange for money. The agent is said to have received Rs2.3 million in this regard, as per the details provided by the FIA Link Office Greece. Furthermore, FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Gujrat registered another case against Mehmood who was offloaded from Karachi Airport. An earlier case had been registered against accused Sajid Mehmood over a similar incident but he had been absconding for the past several months until he was arrested by the authorities at Karachi airport yesterday (Sunday). He is alleged to have received Rs2.5 million from the victims as well. One of the victims' family members had registered a case against him. According to the spokesperson of FIA, further investigation is ongoing and raids are being conducted to arrest other accused. Read Greece boat disaster: A Pakistani father's anguish over his missing son Notably, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a four-member committee to investigate the tragic incident where a boat sank about 80 kilometres off Greece’s southern town of Pylos on Wednesday. Distressing reports indicate that over 300 Pakistani individuals are feared dead, with dwindling hopes of finding survivors. According to Greek officials, 27 Pakistanis died after the fishing boat sank, whereas 12 survived the disaster. So far, the Greek authorities said 104 survivors and 78 bodies had been brought ashore. Most of the people on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, the officials said, adding that the death toll could top many hundreds as up to 750 people had packed the ill-fated boat. With about 500 people missing, new accounts from survivors indicate that women and children were forced to travel in the hold and that certain nationalities were condemned to the most dangerous part of the trawler, a London-based newspaper reported. According to leaked testimonies, given to the Greek coastguards, as reported by the Guardian newspaper, Pakistanis were forced below deck, with other nationalities allowed on the top deck, where they had a far greater chance of surviving. The testimonies, the newspaper report said, suggested the women and children were effectively “locked up” in the hold, ostensibly to be “protected” by men on the overcrowded vessel. A separate report by Observer said that the crew members also maltreated the Pakistani nationals when they appeared in search of freshwater or tried to escape. “No women or children are thought to be among the survivors,” the Guardian report said. According to the report, one estimate indicated that about 400 Pakistanis were on board. The local media reported that at least 298 Pakistanis had died, including 135 from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). It added that a new testimony indicated that the trawler’s engine failed days before it sank. “Around 700 of us were on board,” the report quoted a migrant as telling the coastguards. “We were travelling for three days and then the engine failed.” There are claims that the boat overturned in the early hours of Wednesday because a rope was attached by coastguards. The allegations were rejected by Greek officials. But on Friday a government official confirmed a rope had been thrown to “stabilise” the boat. Identification through DNA Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has apprised the authorities in Greece have so far received 78 dead bodies which are not identifiable and their nationalities remain also unknown. "It has been further informed that the identification of the dead bodies will be made through their DNA profiles," a notification issued by the PM"s office read. In this regard, the Interior Division has established a coordination cell to carry out the initial screening of information provided by the relatives of the victims. The cell will also be responsible for disseminating information with regard to DNA sampling and assisting the bereaved families in obtaining the samples. Punjab Forensic Science Agency will be in charge of preparing the required DNA reports for the identification of the victims.   'Human trafficking must stop' Defense Minister Khawaja Asif called for "strict action" against human traffickers as he took stock of the emerging details of last week's migrant boat sinking off the Greek coast. PM Shehbaz had declared Monday (today) a day of mourning in honour of the victims. Reflecting on the incident at the National Assembly, Khawaja Asif found himself at a loss of words to express the grief he felt at the loss of precious human lives. "Several homes were devastated by this incident," he said as he lamented the actions of the Greek coastguard saying '"they did not save the drowning people". "The Parliament stands with the bereaved families in solidarity," he said, stressing that "the government and the opposition must work together to bring an end to this". "We will have to take the strictest possible measures against human traffickers," he said, "These children only emigrate due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country." Read More Greece shipwreck: Heart-wrenching tales of Pakistanis seeking a better life "People only fall prey to these traffickers because they are stuck," he added. The defense minister also noted that the migration process started in the 1970s when Pakistani began to leave the country in search of better employment opportunities which overlapped with the "illegal" human trafficking business taking off. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali also echoed similar sentiments in parliament today. He, however, objected to Asif's call for lawmaking. He said that "there are 25 such agencies operating in the country. There is no need to make new laws; laws exist but it is the implementation that remains elusive." "The state agencies know full well who is involved in human tracking and their whereabouts," he lamented, "All law and order issues are the direct result of the lack of law enforcement."