![In this picture taken on June 20, Tazeem Pervaiz, mother of migrant Taquir Pervaiz, who is missing after an overloaded trawler capsized and sank in the Ionian Sea, weeps while holding a picture of her son in Bandli village, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. [Sajjad Qayyum/AFP]](/cnmi_pf/images/2023/06/23/42722-33ke48k-highres-739_416.webp)
Pakistani authorities have launched a major crackdown on human traffickers across the county after a recent catastrophic shipwreck in Greek waters.
An Italy-bound fishing boat reportedly carrying more than 700 passengers, including more than 200 Pakistanis, capsized off Greece on June 14.
The known death toll reached 80 on Thursday (June 22) after searchers recovered two more bodies. But many more passengers are feared to have drowned.
Authorities know of only 104 survivors so far, and the United Nations' human rights office says that up to 500 passengers are still missing.
![Zaheer Ahmed, former director of the FIA's Anti-Human Smuggling Unit, received a 'Hero Award' for championing anti-trafficking laws. The award was presented by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on June 15. [FIA]](/cnmi_pf/images/2023/06/23/42723-fyu6dnyagaenrzi-739_416.webp)
Zaheer Ahmed, former director of the FIA's Anti-Human Smuggling Unit, received a 'Hero Award' for championing anti-trafficking laws. The award was presented by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on June 15. [FIA]
At least 209 Pakistanis were on that ill-fated boat, according to Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a meeting on Wednesday ordered the Interior Ministry to dismantle trafficking networks in the country and to formulate legislation to put an end to this illegal business.
Interior Ministry officials at the meeting informed Sharif that police had arrested several suspects in the nationwide crackdown on the human traffickers, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
The detainees include a Pakistani accused of placing most of the passengers on the doomed ship.
Pakistan observed a day of mourning on Monday, and the Interior Ministry established a co-ordination cell to assist the families of the victims.
The FIA on Thursday said that after the incident, the law enforcement agency has arrested 17 residents of various parts of the country.
“FIA has registered a total of 54 cases against the human traffickers, and more arrests will be made in the upcoming days,” said a Lahore-based FIA official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The crackdown on human traffickers has been welcomed by families of the victims and civil society groups.
"This is a positive step by the government," said Abid Rajorvi, a relative of two missing young men.
"The human trafficking gangs are roaming around in villages and luring youth with a dream of a prosperous future in Europe and charging them huge amounts ranging between $7,000 and $14,000," said Rajorvi.
Washington honours Pakistani foe of human trafficking
Human trafficking is a serious problem in Pakistan, and it is estimated that human traffickers smuggle thousands of Pakistanis abroad each year.
The US State Department on June 15 honoured a Pakistani police officer, Zaheer Ahmed, with the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Hero award in Washington, according to the US embassy in Islamabad.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented the award to Ahmed, a former director of the FIA's Anti-Human Smuggling Unit.
Ahmed's "efforts were instrumental in Pakistan's promotion from TIP Tier 2 Watchlist to Tier 2 in 2022", according to a statement from the embassy.
The State Department defines Tier 2 countries as those "whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA [Trafficking Victims Protection Act]'s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards".
