ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will repatriate 22 survivors of a boat capsize off Morocco this month, the Pakistani foreign office said on Saturday, adding that verifying national identities of these individuals remained a critical component of the repatriation process.
The boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders.
Moroccan authorities said a day later 36 people were rescued from the vessel that left Mauritania on Jan. 2, while the foreign office confirmed the survivors included 22 Pakistanis.
Pakistan’s embassy in Rabat has been working closely with Moroccan authorities to oversee the relief efforts and finalize the complex repatriation procedure, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
“Following thorough investigations and careful coordination with Moroccan authorities, these individuals will be returned to Pakistan in batches,” it said in a statement.
The Pakistani foreign office said its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) was actively engaged in monitoring the situation and providing necessary support to the affected individuals, maintaining active communication with their families.
The national identity verification process was completed expeditiously in coordination with the Pakistani interior ministry and relevant departments, it added.
The Morocco tragedy has once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants, including Pakistanis, embark on due to conflict and economic instability in their home countries.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. More recently, five Pakistani nationals died in a shipwreck off the southern Greek island of Gavdos on Dec. 14.
The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests. On Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also formed a special task force to curb human smuggling, promising to bring human traffickers to justice.
Separately, the foreign office said on Saturday, it was facilitating the return of another 11 Pakistani nationals from Mauritania, who had voluntarily chosen to return home.
“The welfare of Pakistani nationals abroad remains an important priority of the government and it will continue to work to extend all possible facilitation in this regard,” it added.
Islamabad to repatriate 22 Pakistani survivors of Morocco boat capsize in batches
https://arab.news/nb379
Islamabad to repatriate 22 Pakistani survivors of Morocco boat capsize in batches
- The migrant boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistani nationals
- The tragedy has once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants embark on due to conflict, instability at home
Pakistan joins OIC, Islamic nations to reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Foreign ministers of 21 Islamic nations, OIC issue joint statement to condemn Israel’s move to recognize breakaway African region
- Joint statement describes Israel’s move as a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter“
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other Arab and Islamic nations in condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a breakaway African region, calling it a violation of international law and reaffirming its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.
Israel this week announced it had recognized Somaliland — a self-declared region that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not previously been recognized by any United Nations member state — triggering condemnation from Somalia and criticism from regional bodies.
The joint statement shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Sunday was endorsed by the foreign ministers of 20 other Muslim countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Türkiye, Yemen and others as well as the OIC.
“Their unequivocal rejection of Israel’s recognition of the ‘Somaliland’ region of the Federal Republic of Somalia on 26 December 2025, given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole, which also reflects Israel’s full and blatant disregard to international law,” the joint statement said.
The statement said Israel’s recognition constitutes a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter,” pointing out that it reflects Tel Aviv’s expansionist agenda.
The Muslim states said they reject any measures that undermine Somalia’s unity, territorial integrity or sovereignty over its entire territory.
“The full rejection of any potential link between such a measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land, which is unequivocally rejected in any form as a matter of principle,” the statement said.
The statement was referencing international media reports earlier this year that said Israel and the US had reached out to East African states, including Somaliland, to take in Palestinians from Gaza.
Pakistan’s foreign office on Saturday issued a separate statement condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.
“Pakistan strongly condemns any attempts to undermine the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and rejects, in this regard, the announcement made by Israel recognizing the independence of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the foreign office had said.
Somalia’s government has said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland violates its sovereignty, while the African Union has opposed unilateral recognition of breakaway regions on the continent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his country had recognized Somaliland “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” referring to US-brokered deals that helped establish ties between Israel and Arab states.
