Greece boat tragedy: PM expresses anger over delay in action against human smugglers
ISLAMABAD (APP) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to supervise the investigation and formulate necessary legislative proposals regarding complete prevention of human trafficking.
He also directed the investigation committee regarding the Greece shipwreck incident to finalize its proceedings and present its report as soon as possible.
A high-level meeting with respect to the Greece boat incident was held here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Expressing anger over the incident, the prime minister questioned why the criminal activities of human smuggling could not be timely stopped. He asked why concrete preventive measures were not taken despite repeatedly happenings of such kind of incidents.
The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to bring all those responsible for human smuggling to justice as soon as possible.
Federal Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatimi, DG FIA, Chief Secretary Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other relevant high officials were present in the meeting.
On June 14, a boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece, in which 104 people have been rescued alive, out of which 12 are from Pakistan.
So far, a total of 79 bodies have been recovered from the sea.
The meeting was told that the coordination cell established in the Ministry of Interior was working 24 hours, where families of the missing persons can contact anytime.
The meeting was informed that after the incident, a total of 10 FIRs had been registered while 15 people had been arrested, including the main accused of the incident.
It was told that an organized network from different countries is involved in human trafficking.
The Prime Minister directed the FIA ??to promptly complete the detailed investigation of the matter and to take effective measures to prevent it.
The Prime Minister also directed the Commissioner Gujranwala to identify the agents involved in the heinous act of human trafficking in Gujranwala district and bring them to justice immediately.
The prime minister directed the relevant institutions to remain in constant contact with the families of the victims. He also directed the Pakistani embassy in Greece to stay in touch with the Greek authorities regarding the incident.
