Pakistan said on Thursday it had been informed by its embassy in Morocco that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including some Pakistanis, had set off from Mauritania and capsized near Dakhla, a Moroccan-controlled port city in the disputed Western Sahara.

Over 40 Pakistanis are feared dead after a boat capsized near West Africa's coast. Departing from Mauritania, they aimed to reach Europe. Pakistani President Zardari calls for stronger anti-trafficking measures.

The Pakistani government has launched an extensive crackdown on human traffickers, though hundreds of Pakistanis continue to perish annually while attempting to reach Europe. In 2023, an overcrowded boat carrying Pakistani migrants sank off Greece, killing an estimated 350 people in one of the deadliest incidents in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pakistan said it had been informed by its embassy in Morocco that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including some Pakistanis, had set off from Mauritania and capsized near Dakhla, a Moroccan-controlled port city in the disputed Western Sahara. Millions of ...