Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to take decisive action against human trafficking following the deaths of five Pakistani citizens in recent Greek shipwrecks.

At least five migrants, including Pakistani nationals, drowned after a wooden boat carrying a large number of migrants capsized near Greece’s southern island of Gavdos last week. Greek coastguards reported ongoing search operations, with several individuals still missing.

In separate incidents, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a boat 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker saved another 88 migrants approximately 28 nautical miles from the island.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a case against four alleged human traffickers and detained two suspects from Sialkot and Gujrat. Chairing a meeting in Islamabad, Prime Minister Sharif expressed frustration over the repeated nature of such incidents, citing the loss of 262 Pakistani nationals in a similar tragedy last year.

“The recurrence of such incidents is due to sluggish actions against the people involved,” PM Shehbaz said. He directed the immediate implementation of the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) to monitor international travelers and sought detailed reports from the FIA and foreign ministry on human trafficking incidents involving Pakistani nationals over the past year.

The prime minister stressed the importance of a robust public awareness campaign against human trafficking and called for enhanced collaboration with international institutions to prevent such tragedies. During the briefing, it was revealed that 174 individuals accused of human trafficking were prosecuted, with only four convictions.

FIA officials reported that human traffickers have begun using air routes to send individuals to Libya, from where they are transported to Italy via perilous Mediterranean crossings. They noted that poverty and unemployment were not the sole factors driving human trafficking. In regions like Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Wazirabad, and parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, sending family members abroad has become a status symbol.

The Mediterranean remains a critical and deadly route for migrants heading to Europe. Between 2014 and the end of 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded over 63,000 deaths and disappearances on migration routes. The year 2023 witnessed a surge in deaths across the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia, underscoring the urgent need for international action to address the migration crisis.

PM Shehbaz’s directives aim to combat the growing human trafficking issue and mitigate the risks faced by migrants seeking better opportunities abroad. (ILKHA)