ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered authorities to issue red notices for human traffickers in order to curb the illegal practice, Pakistani state media reported, days after a migrant boat carrying over 60 Pakistanis capsized near Morocco.
The boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said last week that it was in process of repatriating 22 survivors of the tragedy.
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.
PM Sharif gave the orders to issue red notices for human traffickers at the first meeting of a task force he formed last week to curb human smuggling, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The prime minister instructed the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] to provide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the information gathered during investigations to facilitate the swift extradition of human traffickers,” the report read.
A red notice is a request from a member country of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to other member states to locate and arrest a person to extradite them to face criminal charges.
The Morocco tragedy is not the first one involving Pakistani migrants in recent years.
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. PM Sharif has also urged increased collaboration with international agencies like Interpol to ensure swift action against human trafficking networks.
“Complete eradication of human trafficking can only be achieved through the collective efforts and cooperation of all institutions,” Sharif told officials at Monday’s meeting.
Pakistan to issue red notices for human traffickers in bid to curb illegal practice
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Pakistan to issue red notices for human traffickers in bid to curb illegal practice
- Development comes days after a boat capsized near Morocco on Jan. 15 while carrying 66 Pakistanis among 86 migrants
- The tragedy once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants embark on due to conflict, instability at home
No third meeting with Pakistan army chief on Trump’s calendar – White House official
- Reuters reported that Donald Trump was expected to hold a third meeting with Asim Munir in six months over a proposed Gaza force
- Pakistan’s top military commander has met Trump twice this year, including a White House luncheon without Pakistani civilian leaders
ISLAMABAD: A White House official said on Wednesday there was no meeting scheduled between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, after a Reuters report cited sources saying Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for talks that could focus on a proposed multinational force for post-war security and aid delivery in Gaza.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
Reuters reported that Washington saw Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions, adding that the visit would mark Munir’s third meeting with Trump in six months.
“This is not on the President’s calendar at this time,” a White House official said on background, responding to an Arab News query about a possible Trump-Munir meeting.
Munir has met Trump twice in recent months. In June, he was invited to a White House luncheon, an unusual and unprecedented interaction in which a US president hosted a Pakistani military leader without the presence of civilian authorities.
A second meeting took place in October, when Trump hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and publicly thanked Munir – whom he described as his “favorite” field marshal – for Pakistan’s efforts toward peace in Gaza, alongside leaders of other Muslim nations.
Pakistan this week reiterated its position the situation in West Asia during an open debate at the UN Security Council, calling for a “time-bound and irreversible” political process anchored in relevant UN resolutions that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous Palestinian state.
Islamabad and Washington have meanwhile sought to repair ties after years of strained relations, with both sides working to boost bilateral trade and investment following what officials have described as a favorable tariff deal.
