Gujranwala court jails trafficker 10 years over Mauritania boat deaths

GUJRANWALA: A special court in Gujranwala has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment over the deaths of two young men from one family in the Mauritania boat tragedy, the Federal Investigation Agency said.

Special Judge Central-I convicted Tariq Mahmood in FIR No. 55/2025, registered under Sections 17 and 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, and Sections 3 and 6 of the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act, 2018, according to the FIA.

The prosecution case was that Mahmood took Rs8 million from the family after promising to send a son and a nephew of the complainant to Spain for employment. Pakistan Observer put the sum at about $28,700. The accused did not send the two men to Spain or make the promised arrangement, according to the FIR, and both died in the Mauritania boat disaster.

The court awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and a Rs1 million fine under Section 22(b) of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979. It imposed four years' rigorous imprisonment and a Rs500,000 fine under Section 17(2)(b) of the same law, and seven years' rigorous imprisonment with a Rs500,000 fine under Section 6 read with Section 3 of the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act, 2018. The terms will run concurrently. Mahmood faces a further six months in prison if the fines go unpaid.

Under Section 544-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court ordered compensation of Rs1 million each to Musammat Misbah Bibi and Muhammad Jaffer.

The FIA Gujranwala Zone investigated the case. Assistant Director Legal Samar Bhatti conducted the prosecution under the supervision of the Director FIA Gujranwala Zone.

The agency said the conviction was a significant development in its action against human trafficking and migrant smuggling, and that its Gujranwala Zone would keep pursuing such cases in court. The FIA urged people seeking work abroad to use legal migration channels and to verify travel and employment arrangements before handing money to agents.

Minute Mirror reported that the Mauritania boat tragedy had brought renewed attention to the risks Pakistanis take on irregular routes to Europe. Pakistan Observer reported that Pakistan remains a major origin country for migrants attempting dangerous sea crossings.

Agents, according to both reports, attract prospective migrants with promises of jobs and legal travel and then send them by unsafe or unauthorised routes.