On the past weekend, the External Affairs Bureau announced that 22 Pakistanis, who fortuitously survived a tragic incident of a migrant ship flipping near Morocco’s coast, are about to be recollected home. Behind this tragedy was that on January 16, a ship with 80 individuals on board, tumbled into the water close to Morocco, resulting in reportedly more than 40 Pakistanis losing their lives out of possible 50 overall casualties. The tragic occurrence took place when these people envisioned reaching Spain’s Canary Islands starting from West Africa, as shared by Walking Borders, a group advocating for migrant rights.
It was the previous weekend when a team of senior governmental representatives was directed by the Prime Minister himself to Morocco with the objective of understanding the situation deeply. The delegation put thorough effort into conducting comprehensive interviews with those 21 survivors in the town named Dakhla in Morocco, and also maintained concurrent official meetings with representatives at the Pakistani embassy situated in Rabat.
On the basis of a recent statement released by the External Affairs Bureau, concrete arrangements are being effectuated to repatriate the 22 surviving Pakistanis currently located in Dakhla. Following an extensive investigation and mindful collaboration with the Moroccan administration, the plan is to return these individuals to Pakistan divided into numerous groups, shared the statement.
The External Affairs Bureau further added that the embassy in Rabat has been consistently cooperating with the Moroccan authorities and that the administrative team stationed in Dakhla executed a vital role in strategizing the return of these surviving individuals. The Crisis Management Unit of the Foreign Ministry has taken the responsibility to be actively involved in observing the situation, extending necessary aid to the affected people, and maintaining ongoing communication with their families, added the Department of External Affairs.
The Bureau specified in their public statement that an essential element of this process is the verification of national identity. This crucial step has been performed rapidly and effectively through the collective coordination of the Interior Ministry and the relevant departments.
In addition to these, the External Affairs Bureau is providing support to expedite the repatriation of 11 Pakistanis from Mauritania via an independent procedure. The Department expounded in its statement that these individuals have opted to return to their homeland on their own accord.