ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Tuesday discussed increasing the minimum sentence for human smuggling to three years, as the country’s foreign office confirmed the identity of 13 Pakistanis who died last month in a boat tragedy off Morocco’s coast.
The Pakistani government has made several arrests in recent weeks after a boat carrying 86 migrants to Europe, including several Pakistanis, capsized near Morocco on January 16, according to the rights group Walking Borders.
Moroccan authorities said a day later that 36 people had been rescued, while the foreign office in Islamabad confirmed that the survivors included 22 Pakistanis.
The Morocco tragedy underscored the perilous journeys many migrants undertake due to conflict and economic hardship. Soon after the development, Pakistani authorities ramped up efforts to crack down on human smuggling networks facilitating dangerous crossings to Europe.
“The Committee discussed the ‘Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Bill, 2025,’” an official statement said after the meeting was convened at Parliament House in Islamabad. “The Secretary, Ministry of Interior, emphasized the need to strengthen legal provisions to enhance deterrence.”
“The draftsman from the Ministry of Law informed the Committee that the amendment introduces a minimum sentence of three years, which will reinforce deterrence and ensure better enforcement of the law,” the statement continued. “The Committee members unanimously agreed to pass the bill and underscored the importance of strict adherence to legal enforcement.”
The Senate committee also reviewed other legislative measures related to migration and trafficking.
Meanwhile, the foreign office spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, mentioned the boat tragedy in a statement.
“After a process of extensive verification, the bodies of 13 Pakistani nationals have been identified,” he said, adding the mortal remains of four victims would arrive in Islamabad on February 5 via a Saudi airline flight.
The latest tragedy adds to a series of migrant boat disasters involving Pakistanis attempting to reach Europe via dangerous sea routes.
In June 2023, an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the Greek town of Pylos, killing hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, in one of the deadliest Mediterranean shipwrecks on record.
More recently, five Pakistani nationals died in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Gavdos on December 14.
Senators back tougher human smuggling laws as 13 Pakistanis identified in Morocco boat tragedy
https://arab.news/z67ac
Senators back tougher human smuggling laws as 13 Pakistanis identified in Morocco boat tragedy
- Senate Standing Committee on Interior suggests minimum sentence of three years for human smugglers
- Foreign office says the mortal remains of four victims of Morocco boat tragedy will soon arrive in Islamabad
Top Pakistani clerics warn government against sending troops to Gaza to disarm Hamas
- Pakistani clerics raise alarm over reports of pressure on Muslim nations to provide troops for Gaza stabilization force under Trump peace plan
- Islamabad has previously said that it is willing to join the international stabilization force but ‘not ready’ to play any role in disarming Hamas
ISLAMABAD: A group of Pakistan’s top religious and political leaders on Monday warned the government against sending Pakistani troops to Gaza to disarm Palestinian group Hamas, amid discussions over a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for the Palestinian territory.
The representative gathering, chaired by prominent scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, brought together leaders from Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees and Shia schools of thought, alongside leaders of the country’s main religio-political parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
The international stabilization force, which is to be composed of troops from Muslim countries, is the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza announced in Sept. Islamabad has previously said it is willing to join the ISF but “not ready” to play any role in disarming Hamas. Hamas’s Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said this month the group had a “legitimate right” to hold weapons, while Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas be disarmed.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting in the port city of Karachi on Monday, Pakistani clerics raised alarm over reports that international pressure is mounting on Muslim-majority nations to provide troops for the transitional security force in Gaza, following Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
“In such circumstances, demands are being made to Muslim countries that they send their forces there to disarm Hamas,” the statement said. “Several Muslim governments have already refused this, and pressure is being increased on Pakistan.”
Last month, the United Nations Security Council approved Washington’s plan, which called for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head, and the stabilization force, which would be empowered to oversee borders, provide security and demilitarize the territory.
The gathering of Pakistani clerics urged Islamabad to resist any diplomatic overtures from Washington regarding troop deployment.
“This gathering, with full emphasis, demands the Government of Pakistan refrain from sending its forces to disarm Hamas and that it should not yield to any pressure in this regard,” the statement said.
The assembly expressed complete support for the liberation of Palestine and described the effort as a “duty of every Muslim.”
It said that Pakistan’s armed forces are “imbued with the spirit of jihad” and that the “notion of placing them against any sacred struggle for the liberation of Baitul Muqaddas or Palestine is impossible for the nation to accept.”
The religious leaders characterized the proposal as a “conspiracy” from which the government must “protect the country.”
Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi and the prime minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, did not respond to Arab News requests for comment on the statement.
Washington reportedly views Pakistan as a prime candidate for the ISF, given its experience in high-intensity border conflicts and internal counter-insurgency operations.
Last week, Pakistan’s foreign office said that Islamabad had not taken any decision on joining the proposed stabilization force for Gaza and had received no formal request from the US or any other country in this regard.
“I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place,” Andrabi told reporters.
He also sought to distance the government from rumors of a pending visit by Pakistan’s defense forces chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to the US to meet President Trump.
