Family members of two victims of the migrant boat tragedy appeared in Geo news’s programme Naya Pakistan and disclosed how their loved ones made it to the ill-fated boat.
Syed Shahid, the uncle of two boys aged around 15 and 16, said that they do not know about the whereabouts of the nephews, adding that no officials have contacted them yet.
He added that the agent who sent his nephews abroad belongs to Kotli Nowshera, Sialkot. He further said that the agent came to them a day before the incident and lied to them that his nephews had reached safely. He said that we later found out on Monday that the ship had sunk, after which we went to the agent’s home but there was no one there.
“The agent told them he would take my nephews to Libya by air, and then their journey would be completed on a cargo ship,” he said. Shahid further revealed that they gave 47 lacs to the agent for his two nephews. He continued by adding that they both took 15 lacs with them in dollars.
He told the anchor that his nephews left Pakistan on May 19 and boarded the boat on June 9. In their last message, his nephews informed them that they were not placed on the promised ship, instead, they were seated on fishing vessels.
He said that they wanted to go to Italy for better earning opportunities.
Luqman Yaqab, whose brother and cousin were on the ship, said that he is in contact with the agent, who has informed them that there is a possibility that his brother and cousin were on a different ship.
He further said that his brother was 17 years of age and his cousin was around 29 to 30 years, adding that they both left Pakistan in January for Dubai, then they went to Egypt, from Egypt then they went to Libya.
Luqman said that they were unaware of the fact that his brother and cousin are taking an illegal route.
The prime minister has constituted a four-member high-level committee to investigate the tragic incident.
