yed Ali Zain, in his 20s, from Lalamusa, Gujrat, left his home with many a dream in his eyes. He was among hundreds of youth trying to enter Europe on board a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece.

According to various international media reports, at least 700 people, most of them youths, were on the big fishing boat. More than half of them were from central Punjab and Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“The number of people who were on the boat and went missing is quite worrying,” says Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We don’t have confirmed information on the number of people on the boat as there were no visas or boarding passes. But we are hearing that they were in hundreds. Pakistan’s mission in Greece is compiling the data but the data cannot be a proof. The data is helping us in discovering the missing people,” she says, adding, “We have received hundreds of messages on the helpline… relatives are worried about their loved ones. The estimated figures/ numbers are really very concerning,” she says.

Initial reports gathered by government agencies and law enforcement suggested that at least 50 people each from four districts in central Punjab and AJK were missing. Only about a dozen, according to official reports have been identified as survivors. Meanwhile a large number of people from Pakistan are missing.

“Our relative Sunny, one of the people who miraculously survived, has told the family over the phone that the boat was overloaded and had remained stuck in the same place for several hours. However, nobody came to their rescue,” Ali Raza, a relative of the survivor from Gujranwala says, citing the survivor. Another survivor, who hails from Kotli, AJK, told his family that a large number of Pakistanis were on the boat. There were over more than two dozen people just from his village, he said.

“Zain left with a few other friends. He had wanted to make his future in Europe. He was disappointed by Pakistan the political and economic situation in Pakistan,” one of his close kin tells TNS.

The bereaved relative urges the state and government agencies to request the relevant authorities in Greece to trace all the missing people. “We are not giving up hope. Even if they have bad news, the bereaved families should get thebody of the deceased.”

“We paid Rs 2.3 million to the agent,” says the father of another missing boy from Sialkot. “The traffickers were inhuman people; according to our child, they did not give them proper shelter and food until they got the full payment.”

Besides Libya, Turkey is another gateway to Europe via Greece. Hundreds of young aspirants attempt this journey via Iran. They mostly travel in large shipping containers with poor ventilation and they get no food until they arrive in Turkey. Once there, they try to cross the Mediterranean Sea and enter Greece. Sometimes, they get shot by coast guards from either Turkish or Greek side. In such cases, it takes a while to get their bodies repatriated.

The role and efficiency of the FIA in tracking, monitoring and reporting instances of trafficking remain important. There is a need to appoint honest officials and purge the administrative and immigration agencies.

Some central Punjab districts (including Gujrawnala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin), Sheikhupura, Jhelum and parts of AJK contribute most of the youngsters trying to reach Europe by illegal means - crossing the international border in cargo containers or on board ships trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The motivation for the adventure comes mostly from the lure of money, peer pressure and poverty and unemployment.

Requesting anonymity, an agent for a trafficking group says “this is hazardous travel by choice. The men and their families know the risks. However, they are driven by their ambition. They take the journey as a challenge.”

Soon after the tragedy, the government and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), claimed to have arrested over a dozen human-trafficking and immigration agents in a crackdown in these districts. “We have arrested over a dozen agents who have been sending people on the boats. They face up to life imprisonment if convicted,” says a senior FIA official, Rana Abdul Jabbar. He adds, “They will be charged under 2018 Smuggling Migrants’ Act, Trafficking in Person Act and Other Offences.”

According to the FIA, last year alone about 20,000 people, mainly the youth from various parts of Pakistan were deported from Turkey and other European countries.

The Human Rights Commission off Pakistan (HRCP) has called for a transparent and fair investigation and accountability.

“Deaths of at least 300 Pakistani citizens, including women and children who drowned, is shocking,” says Hina Jilani, the HRCP chairperson. She adds, “The fact that these were avoidable deaths and involved victims of human trafficking should serve as a stark reminder to the state that it has failed to stem a longstanding and grievous human rights violation.”

Pakistan has been a source, transit and destination country for trafficking in persons. It is clear that a serious lack of coordination among law enforcement agencies continues to allow traffickers to operate with impunity. “Not only must the state take responsibility for its part in this disaster, but it must also acknowledge that the dearth of economic opportunities available in the country compels more and more people to take their chances on such routes without being fully aware of the risk,” the HRCP urges.

The role and efficiency of the FIA in tracking, monitoring and reporting instances of trafficking remains serious questions. There is a need to appoint honest officials and purge the administrative and immigration agencies to end facilitation of human trafficking agents. ”Such actions are always political and administratively compromised,” says a surviving family member of a victim.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who belongs to Sialkot, has called for firm action against those sending the people abroad illegally. He has also blamed Greek coastguards for not helping the people close to the shore.

The state must come up with comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and train public officials concerned to identify and report such crimes and hold the perpetrators to account, rights groups have said.

The writer can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com. He tweets at:@waqargillani