Pakistan says at least 16 nationals died in migrant boat sinking near Libya

ISLAMABAD (AP) — At least 16 Pakistanis died and 10 others are unaccounted for after a boat carrying dozens of Europe-bound migrants sank at the weekend off the coast of Libya, officials said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 33 of the 37 survivors were in Libyan police custody and one was being treated at a hospital. An estimated 65 people were on the boat, it said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep grief and sorrow for those lost in the capsizing in Marsa Dela port in the western city of Zawiya.

Sharif ordered the Foreign Ministry to complete the process of identifying the victims and provide assistance to those affected. He also ordered action against those involved "in heinous acts like human trafficking,” according to a statement.

Most of the victims came from Kurram, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in sectarian clashes.

"People try to travel to Europe through illegal means because of unemployment” at home, said Javed Hussain, a nephew of Shehzad Hussain, one of the victims. He said mourners were gathering at the homes of those who perished in the latest tragedy.

In January, authorities said dozens of Pakistanis died when a boat capsized off West Africa. Some of the survivors later accused smugglers of killing 43 migrants in a dispute over payment. Pakistan has since confirmed the deaths of 13 of its nationals.

Hundreds of Pakistanis die every year while trying to reach Europe by land and sea with the help of human smugglers. They also use dangerous land and sea routes to reach Europe in an effort to find jobs.

Libya, which has borders with six nations and a long shore on the Mediterranean, was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Since then, the oil-rich country has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East for Europe.

At least 674 migrants were reported dead and more than 1,000 missing off Libya in 2024, according to the International Organization for Migration’s missing migrants project. More than 21,700 migrants were intercepted and returned to the chaos-stricken country.

In 2023, the IOM reported 962 migrants dead and 1,563 missing off Libya. Around 17,200 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya that year, it said.

Those who are returned are held in government-run detention centers rife with abuses, including forced labor, beatings, rapes and torture — practices that amount to crimes against humanity, according to U.N.-commissioned investigators. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of the imprisoned migrants before releasing them or allowing them to leave Libya on traffickers’ boats to Europe.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Javed Hussain in Kurram, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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