More than 40 Pakistanis were feared to have drowned in the capsizing of a boat off West Africa’s Atlantic coastline, which has emerged as a primary point of departure for migrants aiming to reach Europe.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths and stressed the need for strict measures to curb human trafficking.
Zardari’s comments in a statement late Thursday came after a Spain-based migrant rights group, Walking Borders, said that 50 people had died on their way to the Canary Islands and that 44 of them were Pakistanis. The group said that the migrants began their journey on Jan. 2.
