Greece boat tragedy: PM Shehbaz announces mourning day, forms probe committee

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced to observe mourning day on Monday (tomorrow) and constituted a four-member high-level committee to probe into the death of dozens of Pakistanis in the Greece boat tragedy, ARY News reported on Sunday.

PM Shehbaz Sharif announced that the national flag will be flown at half-mast and special prayers will be offered for the deceased people in the Greece boat tragedy.

The premier constituted a high-level committee to probe into the incident.

National Police Bureau Director General Ehsan Sadiq has been appointed chairman of the probe committee while the other members include Foreign Ministry’s Additional Secretary for Africa Javed Imrani, DIG Poonch Zaheer Ahmed and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Joint Secretary Faisal Nisar Chaudhry.

READ: Greece boat disaster: PM Shehbaz Sharif orders crackdown against human smugglers

The probe committee will collect evidence and facts regarding the people who drowned in the shipwreck to ascertain responsible persons and investigate the human trafficking aspects.

PM Sharif said in a statement that the government will table recommendations for addressing the issue through global cooperation and joint framework.

The government will also review short-term and long-term legislation to curb the issue besides envisaging laws for giving penalties to the people responsible for such kinds of incidents, he added.

The investigation committee will present its report in a week and further action will be taken by the federal government.

Number of missing Pakistanis

According to the latest statistics, the number of missing persons from Gujrat has reached 47 following the boat incident in Greece.

It was learnt that six persons went missing from Goleki village, three from Qasimabad, two from Tahli, two from an area in the vicinity of the Shaheen police station, three from an area of the Saddar police station, 11 from the vicinity of the Danga police station, four from the Rehmania police station, three from the vicinity of the Kakrali police station, 10 from the Bolani police station, two from the Kot Qutbuddin police station and one from the vicinity of the Nathu Kot police station.

500 still missing, says UN

The UN human rights office said that up to 500 people are still missing from a migrant boat that sank off Greece.

The spokesman Jeremy Laurence said that large numbers of women and children were among those missing in the “horrific tragedy” that left 78 people dead. He added that the appalling loss of life underscored the need to bring people smugglers to justice.

A media outlet reported that at least 298 Pakistanis died, 135 from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

One estimate indicated about 400 Pakistanis were on board. Pakistan’s foreign ministry has so far confirmed that only 12 of the 78 survivors were from Pakistan.