Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of four Pakistani nationals in a boat capsizing incident in Libya, reiterating his government’s commitment to act against human traffickers.
A vessel carrying foreign nationals sank near the Harawa coast of Sirte in eastern Libya, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday, confirming that four Pakistani nationals were among the 11 bodies recovered.
“Deeply saddened by reports from our Mission in Tripoli of yet another boat capsizing incident off the Harawa coast near Sirte City, Eastern Libya, in which at least four Pakistanis have been confirmed dead out of 11 casualties,” the prime minister wrote on his X timeline.
He said that Pakistan’s Mission in Tripoli and the FO were working with the local authorities to retrieve the remains of the deceased.
“While we are taking strong action against those responsible for luring our citizens into this death trap, we will continue to come down hard against such elements so no family has to carry the coffins of their loved ones in such accidents,” he reiterated.
Earlier, the foreign ministry said it activated Crisis Management Unit to monitor the situation. For any assistance and information, people can contact at: 051-9207887 and [email protected].
The latest incident adds to the list of migrant boat tragedies resulting in the loss of precious lives, with dozens of Pakistanis drowning in multiple incidents in recent months.
On February 11, at least 16 Pakistanis were confirmed dead, and 10 others remained missing after a boat carrying illegal migrants met with a deadly accident in the same waters off the Libyan coast.
