Two brothers from Wazirabad sitting on Greece-bound boat still missing

Two brothers, belonging to Rata That area of Wazirabad, were among the passengers on that ill-fated boat, which was carrying illegal migrants to Greece but could not make it to the country and sank in the Mediterranean, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Family sources said that an agent from Wazirabad first took Waqas Ashraf and Waqar Ashraf to Libya, assuring them that a bright future lay ahead of them in Europe. 

They said that both brothers stayed in Libya for a month and then they were made to sit in the boat, which had to take them to Greece.

The sources further said that the agent collected Rs4.5 million from them to take them to Libya while the remaining amount was still pending.

The entire locality is in a state of grief and shock following the boat tragedy. 

Meanwhile, the authorities on Wednesday confirmed yet another death in the Greece boat tragedy.

The youngster, identified as 22-year-old Ahsan Sikandar from village Maroof of Gujrat, was also on the boat, which sank in the Mediterranean while carrying illegal migrants to Greece.

The entire village was in a state of mourning after news of the youth's death broke.

On the other hand, ordering a crackdown on the people involved in human smuggling, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday sought from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a report containing information about the number of Pakistanis who remained involved in such incidents during the last one year across the world.

He also expressed his disillusionment over the slow pace of investigation into a similar incident which had also taken place off the shores of  Greece in 2023 and in which 262 Pakistanis had lost their lives.

The PM ordered that action be taken against such officials, who were not serious in carrying out the probe. 

Reporters: Nayyer Alam, Rana Shehzad and Awais Kiani