ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday thanked Morocco’s King Muhammad VI and the Moroccan government for the rescue of 22 Pakistani nationals in a shipwreck off the coast of Dakhla city as he met the Moroccan ambassador, Mohamed Karmoune, in Islamabad.
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.
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.
In his meeting with the Moroccan ambassador, Sharif expressed Pakistan’s “deep appreciation” of the Moroccan leadership for the support extended in rescuing stranded Pakistanis who had survived the boat capsize.
“He thanked the local Moroccan authorities for extending their full cooperation to the Pakistani officials involved in repatriation of the survivors as well as the remains of those deceased,” Sharif’s office said.
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.
Recalling brotherly ties between Pakistan and Morocco at Monday’s meeting, Sharif said there was a need to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. Islamabad has been actively pursuing trade and investment opportunities to put the $350 billion South Asian economy on the path of recovery since avoiding a default in mid-2023.
The Moroccan ambassador reaffirmed his country’s commitment to further strengthen cooperation with Pakistan across all areas of shared interest, according to Sharif’s office.
“The two sides are working closely to convene meetings of the institutional consultative mechanisms, including Bilateral Political Consultations at an early date,” it added.
PM Sharif meets Moroccan envoy after 22 Pakistanis rescued in migrant shipwreck
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PM Sharif meets Moroccan envoy after 22 Pakistanis rescued in migrant shipwreck
- The boat capsized off Morocco on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis
- Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said that it is in process of repatriating 22 survivors of the tragedy
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives
- At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
- Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured.
Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack.
In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added.
Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.
While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history.
