ISLAMABAD  -  Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced the observance of a day of mourning today over the death of Pakistani nationals after a ship carrying migrants sank off the coast of Greece on June 14. “Tomorrow, the nation­al flag will fly on half-mast and special prayers would be offered for the deceased,” PM Office Me­dia Wing said in a press state­ment issued here yesterday.

The PM also directed for hold­ing of an inquiry into the hu­man trafficking that led to the tragic incident of migrants ship­wreck and ordered an immedi­ate crackdown against agents in­volved in the heinous crime of human trafficking and called for bringing them to justice.

Moreover, the prime minis­ter constituted a four-member high-level committee to investi­gate the tragic incident.

According to a notification is­sued by the PM Office, the com­mittee will comprise Director General National Police Bureau Ehsan Sadiq as Chairman as well as Additional Secretary (Afri­ca) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Javed Ahmed Umrani, Deputy Inspector General Police Poonch Region of AJK, Sardar Zaheer Ahemed, and Joint Secretary Federal Investigation Agency Faisal Nisar Chaudhry. 

The committee shall submit its report within one week.

The committee will ascertain facts of the Greece boat tragedy, to identity loopholes and laps­es in the legal and enforcement mechanism in Pakistan that ex­posed precious human lives to the vagaries of human traffick­ing in this particular case and similar incidents in the past.

It will also analyze similar past incidents and action taken. The forum will also take stock of the existing legal framework, en­forcement measures in the coun­try and the international coordi­nation to prevent, control and punish human smuggling and to prepare short and long-term recom­mendations, including legislation, en­forcement measures, awareness cam­paign and improvement of national and international coordination to appre­hend agents, facilitators, masterminds and rackets and for the eradication of the menace of human trafficking.

The prime minister said the entire nation including him shared their sympathies with the bereaved fami­lies. He also directed the officials of the Pakistan embassy in Greece to look after 12 Pakistanis rescued from the scene of the disaster.

He also directed for taking fur­ther stringent action against the ele­ments involved in human trafficking, besides asking the law enforcement agencies for the identification of such traffickers who had been duping peo­ple to undertake such perilous steps.

Upon the directive of the prime minister, Federal Investigation Agen­cy (FIA) had deputed DIG Alam Shin­wari as a focal person to facilitate in­formation regarding those who lost lives in the incident and others who were injured. Similarly, the AJK chief secretary had also tasked a focal per­son to contact the Pakistan embassy and Greek authorities in Greece re­garding the latest information over the casualties and injuries.

According to fresh reports, at least 78 people died after the overcrowd­ed vessel went down on Wednesday. A total of 104 passengers were rescued and sent to Kalamata, Greece. The peo­ple rescued so far included 43 Egyp­tian nationals, 47 Syrian nationals, 12 Pakistani nationals, and two Palestin­ians, the Hellenic Coast Guard were quoted by international media outlets. Eight of those rescued were minors.

Meanwhile, the AJK police arrest­ed 10 “sub-agents” allegedly involved in the smuggling of people to Eu­rope via the Middle East and Africa, including those who died in the re­cent Greece boat tragedy. According to Kotli SSP Muhammad Riaz Mughal 21 people from AJK had been aboard the ship and were missing.

He said 19 of these people be­longed to Khuiratta and the remain­ing hailed from neighbouring Char­hoi. SSP Mughal revealed that as many as 10 “sub-agents” were arrest­ed in AJK during the last 24 hours.

Mughal said the suspects were booked under sections 418 (cheat­ing with the knowledge that wrong­ful loss may ensue to a person whose interest offender is bound to pro­tect), 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 322 (punishment for murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“They were sub-agents or agents of main human traffickers Chaudhry Zulqarnain, Talat Kiani, and Khalid Mirza, who belong to Kotli and Mir­pur and are based in Libya.