FIA yet to probe human traffickers involved in Libya boat tragedy: report

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made no progress in investigating the Libya boat tragedy for human trafficking in which 31 Pakistanis among 90 dead had drowned in the Mediterranean in their failed bid to reach Italy, a report said on Sunday.

The incident that occurred on the coast of Libya on January 31 had demanded investigation as well as action against the human traffickers within the country.

While eight FIRs were registered by FIA against human traffickers – seven in Gujrat and one in Faisalabad, no action was taken to probe the incident and arrest suspects for further interrogation.

In Faisalabad-based FIR, suspects Muhammad Sajjad and Zafar Abbas are on a pre-arrest bail while two others, Muhammad Yasin and Muhammad Idris, are on bail.

On Feb 12, bodies of eleven Pakistani citizens, who died in the tragic boat incident in Libya, had arrived at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.

All the victims belonged to different areas of the Punjab province, including, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. Similar cases have also been reported in the past where people belonging to Punjab have lost their lives in an attempt to cross over into Europe in the hope of a better future.