Pakistani authorities arrests key suspect in Greece boat tragedy
Islamabad, Hilal Ahmad, March 10, AZERTAC
Pakistani authorities have arrested a key suspect in the Greece boat tragedy from the city of Sialkot in Punjab province. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed the arrest of the prime suspect involved in last year’s incident, in which at least 40 Pakistanis lost their lives.
In a statement, the FIA described the suspect as a notorious human smuggler and a key member of an international human trafficking network. His arrest follows Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s directive for a nationwide crackdown on human smuggling operations.
The suspect, identified as Usman Jajja, had been on the run since the Greece boat tragedy in December 2024. He was accused of organizing illegal boat travel to Europe and collecting millions of rupees from victims under the pretext of facilitating their migration.
The ill-fated boat, which sank off the Greek coast, had departed from a Libyan port carrying a large number of illegal immigrants, including Pakistanis.
The Greece tragedy was not an isolated incident. In January 2025, another boat carrying illegal immigrants from Mauritania to Europe capsized, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people, including many Pakistanis.
