TRIPOLI, Jun 19 (Alliance News): At least 60 migrants, including Pakistani nationals, are feared dead following two shipwrecks off Libya’s coast over the past week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed on Tuesday.
The first tragedy occurred on June 12 near a Libyan port in Tripoli, where 21 individuals, including women and children, went missing after their boat capsized. Only five survivors were rescued. The victims included migrants from Pakistan, Eritrea, Egypt, and Sudan.
The second incident took place about 35 kilometers off the port city of Tobruk, where a sole survivor reported that 39 fellow migrants were lost at sea.
“With dozens feared dead and entire families left in anguish, IOM is once again urging the international community to scale up search and rescue operations and guarantee safe, predictable disembarkation for survivors,” said Othman Belbeisi, IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
According to IOM data, at least 743 people have lost their lives so far in 2025 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe — a route increasingly marked by perilous smuggling operations, reduced rescue missions, and mounting restrictions on humanitarian efforts.
Earlier in April, another tragic incident saw a boat carrying foreign nationals, including Pakistanis, sink near Harawa coast in eastern Libya. Pakistan’s Foreign Office had confirmed that four Pakistani citizens were among the 11 bodies recovered.
Amid the rising number of such fatal migration attempts, Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia issued a religious edict (fatwa) condemning illegal migration. The decree, issued by Dr. Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi, declared using illegal means to go abroad as both unlawful and a violation of Islamic Shariah.
The fatwa warned that risking one’s life or committing acts that could lead to death is strictly forbidden in Islam, urging people to pursue legal and safe methods for immigration.
