ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the country was still unable to verify the number and identities of its nationals who had died or were missing after a fishing vessel sank in the Mediterranean Sea last week with around 750 illegal migrants onboard, many of them from Pakistan.
Data shared with Reuters by a Pakistani investigative agency meanwhile showed there were at least 209 Pakistani “victims” on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece.
But in a briefing on Thursday, foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the government still did not have exact figures.
“Unfortunately, we have been unable to verify the number and identity of Pakistani nationals among the deceased and missing,” she told reporters, adding that twelve Pakistanis among 104 survivors were in “good physical condition” and being provided relief.
She said 84 bodies recovered by Greek authorities would be identified through DNA matching.
“Relevant authorities have started collecting DNA samples from the families of those suspected to be on-board and will be sharing this with the Greek authorities,” Baloch said.
The Pakistani mission in Greece was working round the clock for the recovery and identification of Pakistani nationals who were missing or feared dead, she said, and Pakistan was in contact with Greek authorities regarding the circumstances under which the shipwreck took place.
Data shared by the Federal Investigation Agency with Reuters meanwhile said 28 victims were from Azad Kashmir, while 181 were from the rest of Pakistan, adding that DNA samples from 201 families had been gathered by officials to help Greece identify those missing.
It was not immediately clear on what basis the agency had identified them as victims, with the official toll from the accident still at 82 and survivors at 104, of which 12 are Pakistanis. Hundreds are believed to have been on board the vessel.
Speaking about another incident of a missing submersible that vanished on Sunday while carrying five people, including two Pakistanis, on a deep-sea tourist voyage to the wreckage of the Titanic, Baloch said Pakistan’s missions in the United States and Canada were in contact with the concerned authorities.
“We will not like to speculate on the circumstances of this incident and also like to respect the wishes of the Dawood family and their privacy,” she added, referring to British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, who is on board the missing Titanic sub with his son Suleman, 19.
Replying to a question regarding a recent offer by the Afghan Taliban that they would mediate talks between Pakistan and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group, the spokesperson said:
“We do not negotiate with individuals that are responsible for killing of Pakistani armed forces and Pakistani civilians.”
“We remained engaged with the interim Afghan government to counter the menace of terrorism and this is ongoing process. We hope that the commitments made including in the trilateral outcome declaration between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China and the steps will be taken to ensure that the Afghanistan is not the source of terrorism to its neighbors including Pakistan.”
