More than 200 people, including 55 Pakistanis were killed after an overloaded boat packed with asylum-seekers sank off Indonesia en route to Australia a couple of days ago. It has now emerged that all 70 asylum-seekers on board the ill-fated vessel were from Quetta. Fifteen of the Pakistanis had been rescued while 55 drowned. Their relatives in Quetta have requested the federal government to help them in bringing back the bodies. The Australian government called the sinking “a terrible tragedy”, but came under pressure from campaign groups which said its tough approach to refugees was partly responsible for such disasters.
