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Left to die by Greece coastguards, Pakistan survivors say boat was deliberately sunk

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  • “We did not sink for five days…so why would we sink now?”: survivors.
  • It sunk because of one-maund-rope thrown into ship, say survivors.
  • Account, independent research poke hole in Greek govt’s account.

Pakistani survivors on the ill-fated boat that capsised off the Greece coast have blamed Greek coastguards for the incident, saying the ship — carrying hundreds of people — was deliberately sunk and no rescue was provided.

The video account of the victims exposed the inhuman attitude of Greece authorities in the last hours leading to the tragedy.

Authorities in Europe still have no clear idea how many people were aboard the boat when it sank — estimates range from 400 to over 700 — but likely hundreds came from Pakistan, and many from Azad Jammu Kashmir.

The accounts of two Pakistani survivors emerged days after the tragic incident.

“They have done this [on purpose]. They have sunk it themselves,” one of the survivors said, while the other added that they had been still for five days and six nights before the ship sunk “in a minute”.

“We did not sink for five days […] so why would we sink now?”

They recounted that the ship’s engine had broken down, leaving them still for almost a week.

“We did not drown even though our engine had [completely] shut down. On the sixth night, around 2:30am [… ] I checked the time; it was 2:15am. Around 10 minutes later, this incident occurred,” one of them said, adding, “It [the boat] sunk because of the one-maund-rope they threw into the boat.”

They further alleged that they did not help despite the presence of two-speed boats, one cargo boat and one receiving ship at the location.

This statement endorsed an independent investigation reported by BBC that poked holes in the Greece authorities’ account of the incident.

An analysis of the movement of other ships in the area suggests that the boat remained stationary for at least seven hours before drowning.

Although the Greek authorities did not respond to BBC’s findings, they have insisted that the boat was on course to Italy and did not need rescuing.

EU’s border force Frontex said it first spotted the ship at around 8GMT and informed Greek authorities.

Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for migrants in trouble at sea, said they received a call at 12:17 GMT saying the boat was in distress.

On Sunday, Pakistan officials said 10 suspected human traffickers had been arrested, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed “severe punishment” for those involved in the trade.

Pakistan is in economic freefall. A dire downturn — caused by decades of mismanagement and political instability — has drained dollar reserves, spurred runaway inflation and caused widespread factory closures.

The desperate situation is creating an incentive for Pakistanis to take perilous, illegal routes to Europe.

Prime Minister Sharif announced a national day of mourning for those who perished — local media say as many as 300 Pakistanis could have been aboard.

‘Pakistani nationals forced below deck’

A report in a UK-based newspaper claimed the ship’s crew forced Pakistani nationals to remain below the deck, where the chances of survival were less.

“The testimonies suggest women and children were effectively ‘locked up’ in the hold, ostensibly to be ‘protected’ by men on the overcrowded vessel,” the Guardian report said.

The report mentioned that the Pakistanis were maltreated “when they appeared in search of freshwater or tried to escape” from the hold.

The Guardian report claimed that the situation on the vessel was so “bleak that even before it sank there had already been six deaths after it ran out of fresh water”.

The publication, quoting a Moroccan-Italian activist, said the people onboard the vessel cried out for help.

“I can testify that these people were asking to be saved by any authority,” she said.

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Combating Terrorism: Twelve Terrorists Destroyed in Separate Operations by Security Forces

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Eleven terrorists and Kharijis were killed in two separate intelligence-based operations in Balochistan’s Miran Shah District and North Waziristan. One of the victims was Sana Alias Baru, a high-value target.

In the vicinity of Miran Shah in North Waziristan, security forces successfully fought the Khwarij, leading to the death of eight and injury of six.

The general region of Balgatar, Kech District, Balochistan was earlier the scene of an Intelligence-Based Operation that resulted in the deaths of four terrorists, one of them was a high-value target.

Authorities in Kech District were actively seeking Baru, who had a pivotal role in recruiting members of the so-called Majeed Brigade, particularly suicide bombers.

Among the terrorists’ possessions were weapons and ammo.

In order to eradicate any lingering terrorists in the vicinity, a sanitation operation is currently under progress.

With unwavering resolve, the Pakistani security forces will eradicate the terrorist threat from the nation.

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Constitutional Bench Gets to Work: Petitions Dismissed, Fines Slapped on Frivolous Petitioners

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As of today, pending matters are being heard by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, which was established under the 26th Amendment to the Constitution.

On its first day of operation, the six-judge Constitutional Bench presided over by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan dismissed several frivolous petitions, including one challenging legislation enacted by the PDM government, and fined the petitioner twenty thousand rupees for bringing the case.

Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Naeem Akhtar Afghan make up the Constitutional Bench, along with Justice Amin.

The bench rejected the appeal challenging the decision of the Supreme Court to appoint Qazi Faez Isa, a former chief justice of Pakistan, to the position of chief justice of the Balochistan high court.

In addition to upholding the Registrar Office’s objections, the Constitutional Bench rejected a petition asking for a change to the general election date on 8 February.

It has become an infructuous affair, the bench said, regarding the review of the Supreme Court’s decision on the review of judgment and order.

Justice Amin Uddin told the Attorney General that the Supreme Court has acknowledged parliament’s involvement in legislation in response to his claim that the verdict has commented on parliament’s position as legislative.

The bench found the petitioner’s claims to be baseless and fined them 20,000 rupees, dismissing their request to outlaw marriages between government employees and foreign nationals.

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Ahsan says all available resources should be used to eradicate smog at the air pollution meeting.

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According to Ahsan Iqbal, the country’s minister of planning and development, a non-traditional approach is required to address the pollution problem, and every available resource would be used to eradicate this grave issue.

Children are disproportionately affected by pollution, the Planning Minister stated during a special meeting on smog and air pollution in Islamabad.

He claimed that cooperation between the federal government and the provinces is urgently needed to address the various problems that climate change has caused in Pakistan.

Smog is interfering with everyday activities, the Minister added, and it has grown to be a serious threat to our future.

Burning crop residue is the cause of smog, he claimed.

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