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Arab News
07-02-2025
- Arab News
Pakistan begins burials for 13 migrants drowned off Africa
MIRZA VIRKAN: A Pakistani who drowned along with 12 compatriots when a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized off northwest Africa was buried in his hometown on Thursday. Each year thousands of Pakistanis pay large sums to traffickers to launch risky and illegal journeys to Europe, where they hope to find work and send funds to support families back home. Pakistanis are frequently among those drowned on crammed boats which sink on the Mediterranean Sea separating North Africa from Europe — the world's deadliest migrant route. Islamabad's foreign ministry this week said 13 of its citizens were among the dead recovered from a boat which went down in the Atlantic. Around 80 passengers were aboard the vessel, which left Mauritania and sailed north toward Spain's Canary Islands before it capsized near the Western Sahara port of Dakhla, the ministry said on January 16. On Thursday the village of Mirza Virkan in eastern Punjab province buried Arslan Khan — one of four bodies from the shipwreck repatriated a day earlier. 'We sent Arslan to build a better future, and the trafficker assured us that he would send him legally,' his 34-year-old brother Adnan Khan told AFP. 'We sold our property and animals for Arslan's future, but the trafficker betrayed us — he sent back our brother's dead body.' Pakistan has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world, according to the United Nation's International Organization for Migration. Many migrants depart from Punjab and the northeastern region of Pakistan administered Kashmir because their communities have historic ties to the country's diaspora in Europe. An official from the Federal Investigation Agency, speaking anonymously to AFP in 2023, estimated Pakistanis attempt 40,000 illegal trips every year. In June that year the Mediterranean witnessed one of its worst migrant shipwrecks when a rusty and overloaded trawler sank overnight. It was carrying more than 750 people — up to 350 of them Pakistanis according to Islamabad — but only 82 bodies were ever recovered.
Express Tribune
06-02-2025
- Express Tribune
Burial of 13 migrants killed in Morocco boat sinking begins
Listen to article A Pakistani man who drowned along with 12 fellow nationals when a boat carrying migrants capsized off northwest Africa was buried in his hometown on Thursday. Every year, thousands of Pakistanis pay large sums to human traffickers for risky and illegal journeys to Europe in search of work and better opportunities to support their families. Sadly, Pakistanis are often among those who drown in overcrowded boats on the Mediterranean Sea, the world's deadliest migrant route. This week, the foreign ministry confirmed that 13 of its citizens were among the victims of a boat tragedy that occurred in the Atlantic Ocean. The boat, which had around 80 passengers aboard, left Mauritania heading for Spain's Canary Islands. However, it capsized near the Western Sahara port of Dakhla on January 16. On Thursday, Arslan Khan, one of four bodies repatriated from the shipwreck, was laid to rest in the village of Mirza Virkan in eastern Punjab. His brother, Adnan Khan, shared the heartbreak, saying, 'We sent Arslan to build a better future, and the trafficker assured us he would send him legally. We sold our property and animals for his future, but the trafficker betrayed us—he sent back our brother's dead body.' According to sources at the Pakistani Embassy in Morocco, initial reports on January 15 suggested that 44 Pakistanis had died in the boat accident. However, local authorities recovered only 13 bodies from the scene. The Pakistani embassy in Morocco worked with local officials to facilitate the identification process. Fingerprint data and photographs were shared with NADRA, which verified the identities of the victims. Once the confirmation was completed, official lists were compiled and released. The identified victims include: Sufyan Ali (son of Javed Iqbal) – Passport No. VF1812352 Sajjad Ali (son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport No. XX1836111 Rais Afzal (son of Muhammad Afzal) – Passport No. MJ1516091 Qasnain Haider (son of Muhammad Banaras) – Passport No. AA6421773 Muhammad Waqas (son of Sanaullah) – Passport No. DJ6315471 Muhammad Akram (son of Ghulam Rasool) – Passport No. DN0151754 Muhammad Arsalan Khan (son of Ramzan Khan) – Passport No. LM4153261 Hamid Shabbir (son of Ghulam Shabbir) – Passport No. CZ5133683 Qaiser Iqbal (son of Muhammad Iqbal) – Passport No. GR1331413 Danish Rehman (son of Muhammad Nawaz) – Passport No. SE9154371 Muhammad Sajawal (son of Rahim Deen) – Passport No. AY5593661 Shehzad Ahmed (son of Wilayat Hussain) – Passport No. GN1162802 Ehtesham (son of Tariq Mehmood) – Passport No. CE1170122 Pakistan has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world, with many migrants coming from Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where communities have long-standing ties to Europe. According to the United Nations' International Organization for Migration, an estimated 40,000 Pakistanis attempt illegal migration each year. In June 2023, the Mediterranean saw one of its deadliest shipwrecks, when an overloaded trawler carrying more than 750 people, including up to 350 Pakistanis, sank. Only 82 bodies were recovered.
