Doha – The Pakistani Foreign Office announced Saturday that 22 Pakistani survivors of a boat capsize near Morocco’s Dakhla port will be repatriated, following thorough investigations and coordination with Moroccan authorities. The process is set to begin today.
Four migrants have already returned to Pakistan via Sialkot International Airport from Mauritania, where they had been stranded for months after paying substantial sums to human traffickers for their journey to Europe.
A four-member high-ranking government team, headed by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry Additional Secretary Salman Chaudhry, has completed its investigation in Morocco.
The team was dispatched under Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s orders, and conducted detailed interviews with 21 survivors in the Moroccan town of Dakhla.
The government delegation also held meetings with officials at the Pakistani embassy in Rabat, as well as with Moroccan authorities.
“The Pakistan Embassy in Rabat has been working closely with Moroccan authorities to oversee the relief efforts and finalize the complex repatriation procedure,” the Foreign Office stated.
Most of the repatriated Pakistanis are expected to arrive in Lahore, though flight schedules are yet to be announced.
The ill-fated vessel, which departed from Mauritania on January 2, was carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistani nationals, according to the migrant rights group Walking Borders.
The boat capsized on January 15 off the Moroccan coast. Up to 50 migrants were feared drowned in the latest deadly incident involving people attempting to cross from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.
“The Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Management Unit (CMU) has been actively engaged in monitoring the situation, providing necessary support to the affected individuals, and maintaining active communication with their families,” the ministry emphasized.
The national identity verification process has been completed in coordination with the Interior Ministry.
Reports on the tragedy revealed disturbing details about the dangerous journey.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) investigations, victims were charged up to Rs4 million (approximately $14,285) each by human traffickers for the journey, initially traveling through Ethiopia to Senegal and Mauritania before boarding the vessel.
The FIA has intensified its crackdown on human traffickers, with at least six cases registered in connection with the Morocco boat incident.
Four cases have been registered by FIA’s Gujranwala circle and two by its Gujrat circle.
Two suspects, including a woman, have been arrested, while eight remain at large and have been placed on a stop list.
The Pakistani Foreign Office also confirmed it is facilitating the return of 11 of its nationals from Mauritania who have voluntarily chosen to return home.
Moroccan authorities are still working to retrieve fingerprints from three to five bodies for identification, and the deceased will be repatriated in the coming week.
The incident occurs amid an increase in migration attempts to Spain’s Canary Islands. Walking Borders reported that 2024 was the deadliest year on record, with over 10,400 migrants losing their lives attempting to reach Spain by sea.
Read also: Morocco Halts Over 78,000 Irregular Migration Attempts in 2024
