On Friday, Pakistani’s ARY News reported that over 2,000 Pakistanis who were attempting to move to Italy illegally, have been detained in Libyan jails.
Ihsan Ullah whose brother is in a Libyan jail, told ARY News that a “huge number of Pakistani nationals have tried to move to Italy illegally recently.”
He said that his brother Aman Ullah has been arrested for more than a month. The agent named Usman from Hafizabad City has also fled Pakistan.
Last week, an Italy-bound fishing trawler reportedly carrying at least 800 people — including hundreds of Pakistanis — capsized off Greece. Only 104 people are known to have survived, and the chance of finding more survivors was seen as virtually nil.
Pakistani Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah assured that the government “would take strict action against the Greece boat tragedy, and an investigation report would be submitted within a week by duly fixing responsibility on those involved in negligence.”
He informed the National Assembly that “amendments had been proposed in certain laws to give exemplary punishment to the elements involved in the heinous crime of human smuggling, and put the lives of abroad job seekers at risk.” He said that a total of 281 Pakistani families had contacted the government to seek help, according to Reuters.
Pakistani authorities said they had arrested 14 suspected human traffickers, and police said they were searching for other suspects.
A statement from Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif’s office said the Pakistani government had ordered a high-level inquiry into the human trafficking network thought to be involved.
So far, neither the Pakistani or Libyan authorities have announced the arrest of more than 2,000 Pakistanis in Libya. Libya Review could not verify the authenticity of the ARY’s News report.