As Pakistanis die in fresh Mediterranean tragedy, a question lingers: Why?

Islamabad, Pakistan – Rehan Aslam’s household ran a transport and car rental business, and market stores. Rehan helped tally those businesses.

But 5 months ago, the 34-year-old sold his car, a Toyota Hiace wagon, for 4.5 cardinal rupees ($16,000) to wage an cause who would assistance him permission down his beingness successful his village, Jora, successful Gujrat territory of Pakistan’s Punjab province, successful hunt of a aboriginal successful Europe.

He ne'er made it.

Rehan, a begetter of 2 girls and a boy, was among 86 radical who boarded a rider vessel connected January 2 adjacent Nouakchott, the superior of Mauritania successful West Africa, aiming for the Canary Islands, an archipelago disconnected the seashore of northwestern Africa controlled by Spain.

Stranded astatine oversea for much than 13 days, the vas was yet rescued by Moroccan authorities – with lone 36 survivors connected board. Rabia Kasuri, Pakistan’s acting ambassador to Morocco, confirmed that astatine slightest 65 Pakistanis were connected committee the boat: of them, 43 were dead, portion 22 survived.

Rehan was among those who died.

“He conscionable wanted to get to Europe somehow. That was his dream, and helium told america not to make immoderate obstacles successful his way,” Mian Ikram Aslam, Rehan’s elder brother, told Al Jazeera. “All helium wanted was to question amended opportunities extracurricular Pakistan for his 3 children.”

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced connected Saturday that it would repatriate the 22 survivors of the caller vessel mishap disconnected the seashore of Morocco, but there’s small closure connected the skyline for the families of those who died.

Instead, the calamity has near successful its aftermath a bid of questions. How did the radical connected the vessel die? Why were they travelling to Europe from West Africa – an improbable and caller way for irregular Pakistani migrants?

And wherefore were radical similar Rehan, from families with immoderate fiscal stability, risking their lives to get to Europe successful the archetypal place?

‘Tortured to death’

This incidental connected the Western Mediterranean way comes conscionable weeks aft 4 different vessels sank successful the cardinal Mediterranean successful December past year. In those tragedies, 200 radical were rescued, but astir 50 were reported dormant oregon missing, including astatine slightest 40 Pakistanis.

One of the deadliest shipwrecks successful the Mediterranean occurred successful June 2023, erstwhile much than 700 people, including astir 300 Pakistanis, died aft the Adriana, an ageing sportfishing trawler, capsized adjacent the Greek land of Pylos.

In the latest incident, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry initially announced connected January 16 that the vessel had “capsized” adjacent Dakhla, a larboard metropolis successful the disputed Western Sahara territory controlled by Morocco. But families of the victims assertion their loved ones were “beaten” and “tortured” earlier being thrown overboard.

Press Release

Incident of vessel capsizing disconnected the seashore of Morocco pic.twitter.com/0ZNvrjWf4m

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) January 16, 2025

Aslam, 49, said survivors from his colony reported that pirates connected different vessel attacked them, stole their belongings and assaulted passengers with hammers earlier throwing immoderate into the sea.

“We were capable to speech with immoderate of the surviving boys successful Dakhla, who shared however pirates repeatedly attacked their vessel for a week, torturing and throwing radical overboard,” helium said.

A akin relationship was shared by Chaudhry Ahsan Gorsi, a businessman from Dhola colony adjacent Gujrat metropolis successful Punjab province.

Gorsi mislaid his nephews, Atif Shehzad and Sufyan Ali, who paid 3.5 cardinal rupees ($12,500) to agents to facilitate their journey. Survivors informed him astir the brutal circumstances of their deaths.

“These boys sold their onshore to rise the wealth and near past August,” Gorsi told Al Jazeera. “But I could ne'er person imagined they would conscionable specified a gruesome destiny – physically attacked, tortured and thrown into the water,” helium said.

Following the rescue of the vessel past week, the Pakistani authorities sent an probe squad to Rabat to probe the allegations. However, their study has not yet been made public.

“We are inactive conducting our probe and person interviewed the survivors astir their experiences,” Rabia Kasuri, Pakistan’s acting ambassador to Morocco, told Al Jazeera from Rabat, wherever she has served for the past 2 years. Investigators, she said, were still “trying to fig retired the details of what unfolded during the days erstwhile the vessel was stranded successful the sea”.

A caller route

Despite being 1 of Pakistan’s astir fertile regions, and the location of respective industries manufacturing physics goods specified arsenic refrigerators, fans, sports and surgical goods, Punjab’s districts of Gujrat, Sialkot, Jhelum, and Mandi Bahauddin person been hubs for radical seeking to migrate to Europe for decades.

According to Frontex, the European Union’s borderline and coastguard agency, astir 150,000 irregular migrants from Pakistan person made it to Europe utilizing onshore and oversea routes, since 2009, erstwhile the bureau started keeping records of migrants entering the European Union.

Most Pakistanis making the travel typically question to the United Arab Emirates, past instrumentality flights to Egypt and Libya earlier attempting a oversea travel crossed the Mediterranean.

Kasuri, the acting envoy, said the Western Mediterranean way is uncommon for Pakistanis seeking irregular migration. But that prime of way mightiness beryllium the effect of attempts by Frontex and Pakistani authorities to tighten their curbs connected irregular migration, said Pakistani officials.

Overall, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), astir 200,000 radical crossed into Europe via assorted Mediterranean routes successful 2024, portion astatine slightest 2,824 were declared dormant oregon missing.

But portion those numbers are inactive significant, Frontex reported a 38 percent diminution successful irregular borderline crossings into the EU successful 2024, marking the lowest levels since 2021.

Frontex information reveals that portion conscionable implicit 10,000 Pakistanis made it to Europe successful 2023, the numbers fell by fractional the pursuing year, arsenic astir 5,000 radical entered Europe done irregular means utilizing onshore oregon oversea routes.

Since the Adriana sinking successful June 2023, which caused nationalist outrage, Pakistani authorities accidental they person accrued and improved their screening to clamp down connected quality smuggling networks, Munir Masood Marath, a elder authoritative of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said. But smugglers, successful response, person searched and recovered caller routes.

“This is simply a crippled of feline and mouse, arsenic we support tracking the smuggling network, they besides find antithetic routes to question and lure radical to usage those,” Marath told Al Jazeera successful an interview.

Rehan flew from Faisalabad successful Punjab to Dubai. Then to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and past connected to Dakar, Senegal. From Dakar, the cause took Rehan and others successful their radical by roadworthy to Nouakchott, up northbound on the Atlantic coast.

The agent, Aslam said, was known to the family. Rehan didn’t look maltreatment from the cause oregon his aides and was often capable to talk with his household backmost location implicit the phone.

Until his death, Rehan’s travel seemed amended than what galore undocumented migrants making specified trips person to endure – thing Aslam knew from his ain experience.

Atif Shehzad (left) and Sufyan Ali (right) were among the Pakistani citizens who died successful the vessel incidental earlier this twelvemonth adjacent the seashore of Morocco [Courtesy of Chaudhry Ahsan Gorsi]

Europe’s ‘lifestyle’ lure

More than 2 decades ago, successful 2003, Aslam, too, had tried a risky travel to Europe – via land, to Greece. Along with a radical of 50 to 80 radical from the Gujrat district, helium made his mode to Pakistan’s southwestern state Balochistan, from wherever smugglers helped him, and others transverse the borderline and participate Iran.

“We kept walking connected ft for months connected end, and erstwhile we would dilatory down, they [smugglers] would endanger to termination america oregon sometimes bushed us”, helium recalled of his journey.

But aft astir 2 months of walking and hiding, erstwhile the radical yet reached the Turkiye border, Aslam gave up and decided to instrumentality home.

“I conscionable told them that I cannot locomotion immoderate more. I showed them blisters connected my feet and begged them to fto maine go,” helium said. They fto him go. “It’s a occurrence I survived that ordeal,” Aslam added.

Since then, the household has built its businesses, and Aslam, 1 of 5 brothers, said they were financially secure. The brothers present tally a palmy car rental concern with a “fleet of 10-15 vehicles”, helium said, arsenic good arsenic market shops. They besides ain a tiny tract of cultivation land.

“Our household was good settled, and Rehan helped maine with our business,” Aslam said. “But aft failing aggregate times to unafraid visas for Canada oregon the United Kingdom, helium decided to instrumentality the hazard [going to Europe without documents].”

Marath, the FIA official, pointed retired that portion economical reasons play their portion successful compelling radical to undertake specified perilous journeys, determination is besides a societal aspect. Families, adjacent those that are financially stable, spot their neighbours, friends, and relatives whose sons person made it to Europe flaunting their upward societal mobility.

Aslam explained that the lure of wealth, amended opportunities, and the “chance to unrecorded successful a much equitable society” pushed radical into taking life-threatening risks.

“There is specified a rot successful our society, radical bash not get justness for tiny things,” helium said. “So often, erstwhile our conveyance is plying betwixt cities, postulation constabulary halt radical seeking bribes randomly. For many, it is portion and parcel of doing concern here, but for some, similar my brother, they had capable of it.”

Gorsi, too, recalled however his nephews worked successful Dubai astatine a operation institution which helium had helped acceptable up earlier deciding to prosecute their European dreams.

“Both these boys had been wanting to find a mode to scope Europe. They spot the manner of immoderate of our chap villagers who person managed to nonstop their children to Europe, and however it gave them upward societal mobility. So, these 2 besides wanted to effort their luck,” helium added.

Still, contempt his ain travel successful 2003, and the decease of his nephew successful January, Aslam was fatalistic – astir arsenic though helium was making bid with the unsafe decisions that led to Rehan’s death.

“Our member made this choice,” helium said. “And we knowingly allowed it, contempt the risks.”