The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a woman in connection with the recent boat tragedy in Morocco that resulted in the deaths of 44 Pakistanis. The arrest took place in Gujrat, and the suspect, identified as Fatima, was placed in judicial custody.
Fatima is accused of collecting money on behalf of her sons from individuals attempting to reach Europe. According to FIA officials, she admitted to working with her three sons to facilitate the illegal migration of people abroad. One of her sons, Khawar, had previously traveled to Senegal with ten individuals as a carrier.
During questioning, Fatima revealed that Khawar had made another trip to Senegal in April 2024. Another son, Hassan, is currently residing in Italy, while the third son, Farhan, has been evading authorities since the tragedy. As part of the ongoing investigation, authorities have seized Fatima’s mobile phone and frozen her bank accounts.
Meanwhile, relatives of the victims have filed three separate cases in Gujranwala. One case was filed by the family of two Sialkot brothers, Irfan and Arsalan, accusing human smuggler Asghar Sindhi. A second case was lodged by the family of Gujrat resident Ali Raza, naming Fadi Gujjar as an accused. A similar case was filed by the relatives of Khawar Hassan against Gujjar.
In response to the tragedy, the Pakistani government dispatched a high-level investigation team to Morocco on Saturday to investigate the deaths of at least 44 Pakistani migrants in the boat accident off the Moroccan coast.
Helena Maleno, CEO of the migrant rights organization Walking Borders, stated that as many as 50 migrants may have drowned in the incident, with 44 of them being Pakistani nationals. She also revealed that the migrants had been stranded at sea for 13 days without any rescue efforts.
