AJK announces 3-day mourning to bemoan Kashmiris’ death in Greek boat tragedy

The government of Azad Kashmir has announced a three-day mourning period to bemoan the death and drowning of more than 50 Kashmiri youth who were boarding the packed migrant boat which capsized off the coast of Greece a few days ago, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.

A three-day mourning period is starting from today across Azad Kashmir during which the flag will remain hoisted half-mast.

AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq directed the chief secretary to make a contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to bring back the dead bodies. A list of 27 missing persons of Kotli district was also released after the boat accident.

Meanwhile, police launched a grand operation against the gangs involved in human trafficking and arrested 9 agents who have illegally sent several Pakistanis to Europe.

Among the missing persons feared to be drowned in the boat accident, 6 youths from Pandori Kalan area of Wazirabad are also included. The youths went missing while going to Italy from Libya.

Besides them, 10 people belonging to Sarai Alamgir are also missing. They were trying to go to Italy. Their loved ones back home are unable to make a contact with them and they are overwhelmed with grief.

Two youths, Usman Siddique and Azmat Khan, who belong to Gujarat have been rescued. They confirmed that five more people boarded the boat.

The families of 10 young men from Daska also reported that their sons were missing who wanted to go to Italy. They were identified as: Ansar, Waqas, Allah Ditta, Fahad, Zain, Tauheed, Yunaib, Hasnain, Kashif, and Ali Faryad.

In his tweet on Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate ferry disaster in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece.

He tweeted: “My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate ferry disaster in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece. Our Embassy in Athens has identified 12 Pakistanis rescued by Hellenic Coast Guard. The Embassy is in contact with the Greek authorities for further updates.”

https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1670020424300908547

According to reports, more than 300 Pakistanis were among those who died after a boat packed with migrants capsized off the coast of Greece last week, hopes for the survivors are fading away.

The death toll in Wednesday’s disaster could top many hundred as witness accounts suggested that 400 to 750 people packed the fishing boat that sank about 50 miles (80km) from the southern Greek town of Pylos.

Greek authorities have said 104 survivors and 78 bodies of the dead were brought ashore in the immediate aftermath. Hopes were fading of finding any more people alive. Most of the people on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, Greek government officials have said.

According to the latest count, 27 Pakistanis died in the boat mishap whereas 12 survived the disaster. More than 50 Pakistanis are still missing.  The bodies and the survivors have been identified.

 

Reporters Nadeem Chaudhry and Muhammad Chand Malik