DNA samples were taken from the relatives of 126 victims of the Greek shipwreck.
The PM leads a high-level meeting, and the FIA makes two additional arrests of human traffickers.
On Wednesday, the FIA in ISLAMABAD collected DNA samples from the relatives of the 126 people still missing from the Greek boat disaster.
The families of 52 victims from FIA Gujarat Circle and 46 families from FIA Gujranwala Circle submitted samples.
The blood of 28 persons from Kotli Azad Kashmir was also collected from their relatives.
The capture of two further human traffickers
Additionally, two other human traffickers connected to the Libya boat incident were apprehended by the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Gujranwala.
Mohsin Javed and Sharafat Ali, both from Gujranwala, are among the arrested people traffickers. The accused allegedly received Rs2.5 million to help get Umair Yahya, the victim of the boat disaster, to Europe.
A spokesperson for the FIA said that the suspects were taken into custody in Gujranwala and that a case has been opened against them.
The people smugglers were apprehended after a boat capsized off the coast of Libya earlier this year, killing seven Pakistanis.
Prime Minister leads important meeting
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting earlier in the day in Islamabad to discuss people smuggling and the recent capsizing of a boat in the Mediterranean near Greece.
The prime minister was given a comprehensive briefing on the Greek shipwreck and instructed officials to expeditiously bring those responsible to justice.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency, Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Secretary, and other high-ranking officials were present at the meeting.
The Greek Coast Guard reportedly located the vessel on June 12 and estimated that there were 700 persons on board. Most of the passengers on board were from Syria, Libya, and Pakistan, but the boat was owned by an Egyptian individual.
The attendees were also informed that 104 people had been saved from the sinking boat, 15 of whom were from Pakistan.
In addition, it was disclosed that 15 persons, including the primary suspect, have been arrested since the boat capsized.
The head of state was also warned that human trafficking is conducted by an international criminal ring.
The PM questioned during the meeting, “Why were the activities of human traffickers not stopped in time?”
Shehbaz vented his frustrations and questioned the inaction of the district administrations responsible for the impacted population’s safety.
He also demanded that the incident’s investigating committee do up their work and present their findings as quickly as possible.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was also tasked by PM Shehbaz with overseeing the probe in its entirety and coming up with legislative suggestions to bring those responsible to justice.
The premier also ordered commissioner Gujranwala to identify such agents in the district and bring them under the law as soon as possible, as well as to take appropriate measures to prevent it, including directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to do so.
Inspector General (IG) Dr. Usman Anwar of the Punjab province ordered the arrest of Mumtaz Arain, the “prime accused” in the people trafficking that led to the tragedy, the day before.
Witnesses estimated that 400–750 people were on the fishing boat that capsized around 50 miles (80km) from the southern Greek town of Pylos, suggesting that the death toll might be in the hundreds.
According to reports from Greek police, 104 people made it to safety and 78 remains were recovered. The likelihood of discovering any further survivors was diminishing.
