Following the deaths of numerous Pakistani migrants in boat accidents last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for tough action against officials who have been causing delays in the fight against human trafficking on Friday.
An overcrowded ship collapsed and sank in international waters outside the coastal town of Pylos in southwest Greece in June 2023, killing hundreds of migrants. At least 209 Pakistanis were on board, making it one of the deadliest boat accidents in Mediterranean history.
Two migrant boats sank in the Mediterranean off the coasts of two cities in western Libya in April of that year, killing dozens of people, including Pakistanis. Earlier in February 2023, a wooden sailing boat transporting migrants crashed into rocks on the southern coast, killing 59 people, including Pakistanis.