WEB DESK: The initial findings of a Pakistani government investigation team of four members in Morocco suggest that it was not an accident by a boat but a horrifying massacre as survivors recount vivid scenes of violence and extortion.
The survivors allege that the smugglers had purposefully left their boat in deep waters demanding ransom from its passengers, beating those who were unable to pay with hammers, and abandoning them in the open water. As revealed by sources close to the ongoing investigation, at least 21 Pakistani passengers were freed after paying ransoms, and there is uncertainty regarding the remaining people. Survivors recounted the experience of living in extreme cold, starving to death, and experiencing violence in a situation that has left many dead.
The Pakistani government dispatched this team on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The investigative team, which comprises officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Intelligence Bureau, led the investigations into the incident, in which an international human trafficking syndicate operating from Senegal through Mauritania up to Morocco was purported to have been involved.
The survivors account that while most of them died, many did not die from hunger and thirst but from severe weather conditions and violent attacks. The investigators have some incriminating conversation material that links to some transnational network smugglers, exposing them for masterminding this tragedy.
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