ATHENS: Demonstrators were due to rally in Athens on Friday to mark the anniversary of a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants off Greece and demand answers about the causes of the disaster and the fate of relatives.
Up to 700 migrants from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt were crammed in Libya into a fishing trawler bound for Italy. It capsized off southwestern Greece on June 14, 2023, even though the Greek coast guard had been monitoring it for hours.
Some 104 survivors were rescued but only 82 bodies were recovered. The catastrophe, one of the worst Mediterranean boat disasters on record, raised searching questions about how the European Union is trying to stem flows of migrants.
“I wake up to nightmares. Even now, I swear by God, my body still hurts,” said one Egyptian survivor called Mohamed. “We, thanks to God, are alive ... Where are the rest of the bodies?“
Survivors and activists were planning rallies in Athens, London, Paris and Berlin. In the Pakistani city of Lalamousa, victims’ relatives prepared a memorial ceremony.
Survivors say the coast guard caused the ship to capsize when it tried to tow the vessel in the early hours of the morning. Authorities say the movement of migrants on board tipped the overcrowded boat over.
A year on, a probe by a naval court into the coast guard’s role is still at a preliminary stage, frustrating survivors, relatives and rights groups. Greece’s shipping minister has called for patience.
Pantelis Themelis, commander of Greece’s Disaster Victim Identification unit, said 74 of the 82 dead had been identified. But many more families from Africa, the Middle East and Asia have sent DNA samples to Greece for checks to no avail.
Hasan Ali, an Athens resident from Pakistan, said his brother Fahad was among the missing, and their parents back in Pakistan would not accept that he could be dead.
“My mother and father are waiting for him,” Ali said. “They say he’s alive, that he’s in Greece.”
Relatives of Pakistani, other victims of Greece boat disaster demand answers, one year on
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Relatives of Pakistani, other victims of Greece boat disaster demand answers, one year on
- Up to 700 migrants from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt were crammed in Libya into a fishing trawler bound for Italy
- It capsized off southwestern Greece in June 2023, even though Greek coast guard had been monitoring it for hours
Pakistan launches digital tools to trace life insurance claims, tighten motor insurance enforcement
- SECP rolls out SMS-based Life Insurance Policy Finder, orders insurers to join Motor Insurance Repository
- The regulator says centralized data will help authorities verify coverage, reduce long-unclaimed benefits
KARACHI: Pakistan’s securities regulator on Monday announced two digital initiatives aimed at overhauling how insurance data is stored and accessed, in a push to strengthen enforcement, improve transparency and make it easier for citizens to trace insurance coverage.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) announced in two separate statements it had introduced a nationwide Life Insurance Policy Finder to help families identify policies held by deceased relatives. It also directed all non-life insurers to join a centralized Motor Insurance Repository (MIR).
Both systems, developed with the Central Depository Company (CDC), seek to address longstanding gaps in a sector where weak records, low compliance and limited data-sharing have left motorists, policyholders and beneficiaries without reliable recourse.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), in collaboration with the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) and the Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP), has introduced the Life Insurance Policy Finder Service,” it said in one of the statements. “This initiative is designed to facilitate the general public in locating life insurance policies of deceased loved ones.”
“The service addresses a long-standing challenge faced by families who remain unaware of life insurance policies held by their deceased relatives,” it added. “This lack of awareness often results in legitimate claims and benefits remaining unclaimed for years.”
The SECP said the initiative aims to strengthen consumer protection, promote transparency and provide structured and secure access to insurance benefits for rightful heirs and beneficiaries.
Under the new policy-finder service, which goes live on Dec. 15, individuals can send the CNIC number of the deceased via SMS to 99833.
If a policy exists, the relevant insurer will contact the beneficiary to verify details and guide them through the claims process. Life insurers and family takaful operators have also been instructed to participate fully and respond to queries within set turnaround times.
Separately, on the motor insurance side, all non-life insurers underwriting vehicle policies are required to sign a service-level agreement with the CDC within 60 days and begin uploading complete and validated policy data to the MIR.
The repository will allow provincial and federal authorities to verify third-party insurance coverage, a requirement that exists on paper but remains loosely enforced nationwide.
The SECP said the measures form part of its broader effort to promote digital transformation, improve compliance and safeguard consumer interest.
“A centralized and validated data repository will allow authorities to verify insurance coverage efficiently, addressing significant gaps in compliance,” it added.
