Thousands of Pakistanis are taking the very perilous Libya route to seek work in Europe. It involves a journey in often precarious overcrowded boats. Of nearly 13,000 Pakistanis who headed for Libya and Egypt this year most haven't returned.
Teenagers Farhad and Touheed travelled to Libya via Egypt and Dubai - their family has no newsThousands of Pakistanis are taking the Libya route to seek work in Europe. It involves a boat journey, the perils of which were highlighted when an overcrowded vessel sank off Greece in June with huge loss of life. Of nearly 13,000 Pakistanis who headed for Libya and Egypt this year, most haven't returned - including two teenagers whose last words to their mother were not to worry.
We ask if anyone wants to speak. Most avert their eyes, but one man, Husnain Shah, jumps up. This is his third arrest; he has been a smuggler for more than a decade, he says, although he denies he played a large role in the shipwreck off the coast of Greece.Husnain Shah is one of 16 men sharing a police cell in Punjab - all are alleged to have been involved in human smuggling
"I felt very sorry, we are really ashamed over this. But what can we do? If I don't do this, someone else will do it."Libya is being used as a route by smugglers to get migrants across to Europe on boats He told the BBC nearly 13,000 people left Pakistan to go to Libya or Egypt in the first six months of 2023, compared with around 7,000 in the whole of 2022. Of those 13,000, 10,000 have not returned.
"People don't come forward to complain, instead they will go to out of court settlements," he says. "It becomes very difficult for us to pursue those cases and gather information because that has to come from the families and in most cases they won't tell us." One father shows us a video of more than 100 men in a windowless room with white walls and white floors. Most of the men are stripped down to their underwear to withstand the heat, several are pleading to the camera to get them out.Families showed the BBC videos of their missing relatives and friends in worrying conditions
One smuggler, based in Europe, said routes were still operating out of Pakistan. Even the police authorities acknowledged that they know people are still leaving the country illegally. Some even had personal experience of making the journey themselves, including Farhad and Touheed's father.Fareed and Najma Hussain's two sons are believed to have drowned when the boat they were travelling on capsized off Greece in June
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