ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reopened an investigation into a shipwreck incident near Greece in June that resulted in the loss of over 100 lives, including approximately 350 Pakistanis.
The Italy-bound fishing trawler, carrying at least 800 people, capsized off Greece, prompting the Pakistani government to launch a crackdown against human traffickers involved in sending people to Europe through unauthorized means.
The FIA will specifically focus on the departure of 155 Pakistanis from Karachi Airport during this investigation. The Director General of FIA directed the Director of Cybercrime South to lead the inquiry.
The new investigating officer has sought old reports and records from 12 officers, and during the investigation, officers from different airports have been questioned about their role in clearing the names of the immigrants.
In the previous investigation report, officers were held responsible for not preventing the immigrants from traveling from Karachi to Libya. On June 2, 286 immigrants departed from various Pakistani airports.
The shipwreck involved at least 350 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians, and 150 Syrians, including Syrian women and young children. In December, the FIA claimed a significant breakthrough in its crackdown against human smugglers by arresting Atiq Butt, the main suspect involved in the Greece shipwreck incident.
Butt is identified as a key operative of a gang engaged in human trafficking from Pakistan, and it was revealed during the investigation that a total of Rs 6.7 million from human trafficking was transferred to his bank account.
