FIA appeals to families of Greece shipwreck victims to identify traffickers' names
Pakistan
The agency offloaded 19,000 Pakistanis suspected of illegal immigration last year
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Amid arrests of key human traffickers in a countrywide crackdown, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has appealed to the families of the Greek shipwreck's victims to come forward fearlessly and identify the agents involved in the illegal immigration and transportation process.
"The affected families will be given protection under the required laws as they are also witnesses in the cases," senior FIA additional director-general North Rana Abdul Jabbar told a news channel.
He urged the families to contact the FIA officials for speeding investigations.
— Federal Investigation Agency - FIA (@FIA_Agency) June 17, 2023
At least 400 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians and 150 Syrians, including around two dozen Syrian women and young children, were travelling on the trawler, according to the initial information shared by survivors of the shipwreck. However, authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of Pakistanis onboard the ship. The Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday that 12 Pakistanis had been found alive.
The FIA officer informed that the agency offloaded 19,000 Pakistanis suspected of illegal immigration last year.
Asked if the agency could confirm the number of Pakistanis crossing the borders illegally, Jabbar said the agency could only "confirm what we stopped and prosecuted." "Only the one who hasn’t reached or has encountered an incident, will report their whereabouts; others won't."
The official said they could share [data] about the people they have stopped from leaving [Pakistan]. Last year, it was 19,000.
Abdul Jabbar also said that Europe deported over 34,000 Pakistanis against illegal immigrants crossing the border last year.
“The FIA registered around 3,600 first information reports (FIRs) against agents,” he said, informing about the number of cases against those involved in human smuggling and trafficking," the FIA officer said.
