Boat tragedy investigation report within a week, says Rana Sana

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday assured that the government would take strict action regarding the boat accident in Greece and an investigation report would be submitted within a week by duly fixing responsibility on those involved in the negligence, the official news agency reported.

In response to the Greek boat accident, a committee was constituted under the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and it has commenced its investigation, the interior minister said while talking to a private news channel in Pakistan.

“The investigation committee will present its report in a week and further action will be taken by the federal government”, he added.

He said the committee will ascertain facts of the boat tragedy besides identifying loopholes and lapses in the legal mechanism in Pakistan that exposed precious human lives to the vagaries of human trafficking in this particular case and similar incidents in the past.

The committee will also analyse similar past incidents and actions will be taken according to the legal framework, he said, adding that international coordination will also help prevent, control and punish human smuggling in the future.

The government will also review short-term and long-term legislation to curb the issue besides envisaging laws for giving penalties to the people responsible for such kinds of incidents, Rana Sanaullah said.

More than 500 migrants are presumed to have drowned after their ship went down in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece earlier this week.

The United Nations’ migrant agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), estimated the boat was carrying as many as 750 people.