The nation observed a mourning day on Monday over the Greece boat disaster, in which dozens of precious lives were lost. An overloaded ferry capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece on Wednesday, involving nearly 400 Pakistanis onboard, dozens of whom were killed and numerous still missing in the unfortunate event of boat swamp. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the day of mourning to share the grief of the bereaved families. The national flag flew at half-mast across the country. Various bar councils and civil society members held special prayers, ‘Ghaebana Namaz-e-Janaza and ‘Fateha khawani in the native villages, towns, and cities of victims of the ferry disaster. The United Nations Human Rights office said in a statement that the ferry was carrying up to 750 people, at least 500 people were still missing, and dozens of people were known to have perished. A good number of women and children were among the missing persons in the ‘horrific tragedy.
A mass exodus of the population from poor, and violence-hit nations in Asia and Africa toward prosperous Western countries is currently on the rise. This unprecedented refuge of people of diverse colors, creeds, and backgrounds has rapidly grown over the past decades and had caused unimaginable economic, administrative, and security issues for the host nations. Resultendly, multiple Western nations introduced strict immigration regimes to curb the number of migrants from certain developing countries that restricted legal migration but encouraged illegal exodus from poor nations. Currently, legal migration and illegal transportation of refugees/ human trafficking and processing of migration cases are lucrative businesses across the world. Currently, Pakistan is at the top of the list of nations that face a mass exodus of young men and women, fleeing their country to comprehend their dreams of a prosperous future and a search for peaceful, just, and equitable life. That is otherwise not possible in their own country. Hence, there had been not a single tragic event of ship swamp, or detention of illegal border crossing in Europe, North Ameria as well as Latin America, and Oceania that might not involve any Pakistani national or Pakistani expatriates. The reports suggest that nearly 400 Pakistanis were on board the unfortunate ferry that sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece in recent days.
Realistically, Pakistan has become an unliveable place for a cultured and civilized community because of the ever-rising corruption of government officials, mismanagement and bad governance, low-quality living, and the unsocial ethics that exist in the society. The persistent political unrest and economic frailty along with the undying giant of terrorism had largely declined public confidence in the national leadership and people perceive their future as unsecured and uncertain in the country. Therefore, every citizen wants to exit the country to live a comfortable and prosperous life in Western democracies in Europe and North America. Ironically, all previous governments and all political groups had played a role in making up for this upheaval and rendering the country an ungovernable land. In the prevailing scenario, the business of illegal migration and human trafficking has flourished over the past years, while national institutions including the Police, the FIA, and others remained asleep during this time. After the recent ship swamp near Greece, the Prime Minister and his aides are promising stern action against the culprits while the FIA had made few arrests of alleged human traffickers in different parts of the country.
Pakistani leaders always failed to access the true nature and gravity of the problems and acted in response to tragedies throughout history. Earlier, Operation Zerb-e-Azb was launched in response to the APS massacre now another counter-terrorism operation had been initiated after the Police Lines attack in Peshawar. Currently, the government has announced a crusade against Human smugglers, however, the scope and extent of their commitment always proved to be very trivial and short-lived. Realistically, the issuance of consoling statements, observance of the day of mourning, and announcement of cash assistance all are cosmetic measures that aim at boosting the leaders’ legacy and covering up the issues. There is a dire need for a public and parliamentary debate to access the true reasons behind the mass exodus from the country. The voluntary exit of the people is a matter of shame for the nation and its leaders because Pakistani youth is disappointed with its leadership and see no future in the country. The political leadership and policymakers must think about the dire economic and living conditions of the public and work for the economic development and industrial growth in the country, which improves people’s lives and restore public confidence in their nation.
