The boat disaster in Greece is the saddest news for all the Pakistanis out there because it took more than 100 Pakistanis’ lives.
On Sunday, this tragedy happened when Pakistani nationals were forced to stay below the deck by the crew which maltreated them during the journey as per the UK Newspaper.
More than 300 Pakistani nationalities have been dead in the sinking of an overcrowded boat off the coast of Greece.
There were other refugees on the boat, but Pakistanis were highest numbers and it’s been considered the “worst tragedy ever”.
Boat Disaster Greece – Over 300 Pakistani Lost Lives
The chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, disclosed the numbers in a statement Sunday, sending condolences to grieving families of the dead.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we pray that the departed souls find eternal peace,” Sanjrani said. “This devastating incident underscores the urgent need to address and condemn the abhorrent act of illegal human trafficking.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to declare Monday a national day of mourning for those who died in the boat’s sinking.
In a tweet Sunday, he ordered a “high-level inquiry” into the incident.
“I assure the nation that those found negligent towards their duty will be held to account. Responsibility will be fixed after the inquiry and heads will roll,” Sharif wrote.
Pakistani Nationals Maltreated
“The testimonies suggest women and children were effectively ‘locked up’ in the hold, ostensibly to be ‘protected’ by men on the overcrowded vessel,” the Guardian report said, adding that Pakistani nationals were maltreated “when they appeared in search of freshwater or tried to escape” from the hold.
The Guardian report claimed that the situation on the boat was so “bleak that even before it sank there had already been six deaths after it ran out of fresh water” — an assertion that contested the claims made by the Greek authorities.
Quoting a Moroccan-Italian activist, the newspaper said that passengers were pleading for help a day before it sank. “I can testify that these people were asking to be saved by any authority,” she said.
A Big Propaganda
The official statement by the Greece officials raised some serious questions on the role of coastguards. “Of concern are claiming that it overturned in the early hours of Wednesday because a rope was attached by coastguards, allegations rejected by Greek officials,” the Guardian said, adding that a government spokesman also confirmed a rope had been thrown to “stabilize” the boat.
One of the refugees Tarek Aldroobi, a man who had three relatives on board, told CNN that they had seen Greek authorities towing the vessel with ropes – but says they were tied in the “wrong places,” which caused it to capsize.
“Their boat was in good condition and the Greek navy tried towing them to the beach but the ropes were tied in the wrong places,” Aldroobi said. “When the Greek navy tried pulling them it caused the boat to capsize.”
Maurice Stierl, of the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies at Osnabrück University in Germany, quoted by the newspaper, accused “many EU countries of ‘weaponizing time’ by delaying rescue as long as they can, or what he called a ‘phase of strategic neglect and abandonment’.”
He said: “They have managed to build in delays into European engagement at sea. They’re actively sort of hiding, in fact, from migrant boats, so that they are not drawn into rescue operations. We can see how a strategy is being created, that slows down — actively and consciously slows down — rescue efforts,” he said.
Last year, a huge wave crashed through the windows of a ferry and left everyone in shock when the video came out.
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