ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Libyan authorities have recovered bodies of at least 16 Pakistani nationals who had died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast, while around 10 Pakistani citizens were still missing.
The boat capsized near the port of Marsa Dela in the northwest of Zawiya city in Libya, according to the Pakistani Foreign Office. It prompted the Pakistani government to activate a crisis management cell to confirm if any Pakistanis were on board.
A team from the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli visited the Zawiya city on Tuesday and met local officials and hospital authorities, and the Foreign Office, citing unconfirmed reports, said the boat was carrying 63 Pakistani nationals.
“So far, 16 dead bodies have been recovered and their Pakistani nationalities established on the basis of their passports,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“There are 37 survivors, including 1 in hospital and 33 in police custody. Reportedly, around 10 Pakistanis are missing in the accident. Three of the survivors are in Tripoli and being looked after by the [Pakistani] embassy.”
It said the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli was in the process of gathering further information from local authorities.
The latest tragedy comes weeks after at least 13 Pakistanis died when a boat carrying 86 migrants to Europe capsized near the coast of Morocco on Jan. 16.
Each year, thousands of Pakistanis pay traffickers large sums for risky and illegal journeys to Europe, hoping to find work and send money back to their families. Many also take these perilous routes to escape conflicts and religious persecution.
Following the tragedy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for strict action against people involved in human trafficking, saying that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard. He expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and assured that the government was undertaking comprehensive measures to combat the crime.
“The prime minister has requested a report on the incident from the relevant authorities,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on human trafficking rings facilitating dangerous sea journeys for migrants, as many of its nationals frequently drown on overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest migrant route.
In 2023, 262 Pakistanis were among the hundreds who died when a vessel sank off Greece’s Pylos. Recently, five Pakistanis perished in a shipwreck near Gavdos on Dec. 14.
Bodies of 16 Pakistanis recovered after shipwreck off Libya, Foreign Office says
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Bodies of 16 Pakistanis recovered after shipwreck off Libya, Foreign Office says
- The boat carrying over 60 Pakistanis capsized near port of Marsa Dela in northwest of Libya’s Zawiya city
- Libyan authorities have rescued 37 people, while around 10 Pakistanis are still missing after the incident
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
