More than 40 Pakistanis are believed to have drowned after their boat capsized off West Africa’s Atlantic coast. This coast is a major departure point for immigrants heading to Europe.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sadness over the deaths and stressed the need for strict measures to curb human trafficking. Zardari’s comments in a statement late Thursday came as Spain-based migrant rights group Walking Borders said 50 people had died en route to the Canary Islands, 44 of them Pakistanis. It was accepted and served.
The group said the migrants began their journey on January 2.
Pakistan has been informed by its embassy in Morocco that a boat carrying 80 passengers, some of them Pakistanis, left Mauritania and capsized near the Moroccan-controlled port city of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara. Announced.
Millions of people migrate to Europe every year, the majority of them using legal and formal means. According to the European Union’s border agency Frontex, fewer than 240,000 people crossed into the continent without documents last year.
As authorities seek to stop migrants and smuggling from Mediterranean countries, more dangerous routes are increasingly being used.
Frontex reported that more than 50,000 migrants traveled from northwest Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands in 2024, including 178 Pakistanis.
Walking Borders said in a report last week that 9,757 people had died or gone missing while attempting to cross to the islands, calling the route “the world’s deadliest route”.
The islands are about 105 kilometers (105 kilometers) from the nearest point in Africa, but many migrants attempt long journeys that can take days or weeks to avoid security forces. Most of last year’s flights departed from Mauritania, which is at least 473 miles (762 kilometers) from the nearest Canary Island island, El Hierro.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said several survivors, including Pakistani nationals, were staying in a camp near Dakhla.
The ministry said in a statement that the Pakistani embassy in Morocco was in contact with local authorities and officials were on their way to Dakhla to help the survivors.
The ministry did not disclose the number of Pakistani deaths. Department officials were not immediately available for comment Friday.
Every year, hundreds of Pakistanis die trying to reach Europe by land and sea with the help of smugglers.
An estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board a fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off the coast of Greece in 2023. Many people died in the incident, which was one of the deadliest in the Mediterranean.
Pakistan has announced that it has started a crackdown on human traffickers.
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