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FO Confirms Identities of 13 Pakistanis Who Died in Moroccan Boat Tragedy

Four Bodies to Arrive in Islamabad Wednesday

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) on Tuesday confirmed the identities of 13 Pakistanis who died Mauritania-Morocco boat tragedy last month.

The confirmation came following a thorough identification process conducted by diplomatic sources.

In addition, it has been announced that the bodies of four of these deceased individuals are scheduled to be repatriated to Islamabad on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

“After a process of extensive verification, bodies of 13 Pakistani nationals have been identified. The mortal remains of four Pakistani nationals are scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on February 5” via a Saudi Airlines flight,” the statement said.

It added that the four of the deceased were Hamid Shabbir, Muhammad Arslan Khan, Qaisar Iqbal and Sajjad Ali.

The FO on January 16 notified that the boat, carrying 80 passengers, capsized near Morocco, with over 40 Pakistanis reportedly among the dead. Migrant rights group Walking Borders said as many as 50 migrants may have drowned in the latest deadly wreck involving people trying to make the crossing from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Over 40 Pakistanis were reportedly murdered by African human traffickers on the boat with only 22 out of around 66 Pakistanis onboard surviving the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the repatriation of the survivors was completed with the arrival of the last batch of eight survivors at Islamabad airport on Saturday.

Initial investigations indicate that Pakistani nationals paid between Rs1.6 million and Rs2.5 million per person to human agents for air travel to Spain.

However, instead of taking them directly, the agents illegally routed them through Ethiopia and later Senegal on visit visas.

From Senegal, the agents transported them to Spain by sea, extorting additional money during the journey.

The investigation further revealed that most of these travel agents were based in Wazirabad, Lahore, Gujarat, and Sialkot.

 

 

Saman Siddiqui

I am a freelance journalist with a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and an MS in Peace and Conflict Studies. Since 2006, I have been involved in various capacities within the electronic media industry. At OyeYeah, I cover diverse genres ranging from journalism and fiction to fashion, including reviews and fact-finding reports.

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