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From Pakistan to Spain via Canaries, smugglers using more dangerous migration routes

From Pakistan to Spain via Canaries, smugglers using more dangerous migration routes
Vehicles pass a billboard featuring two victims who died in a migrant boat journey, along a road in Jaura, a village in Gujrat district, Pakistan on April 16, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 07 June 2025

From Pakistan to Spain via Canaries, smugglers using more dangerous migration routes

From Pakistan to Spain via Canaries, smugglers using more dangerous migration routes
  • Forty-four fellow Pakistani migrants died during 10-day failed crossing in January from Mauritania to Spain’s Canary Islands
  • Nearly 47,000 people disembarked in the Canaries in 2024, an increase from the nearly 40,000 in 2023, as per Spain

DERA BAJWA, Pakistan: It was supposed to be the final leg of Amir Ali’s monthslong journey to Europe. But he was nowhere near his destination, with only death in sight.

The 21-year-old Pakistani had been promised a visa and a flight to Spain. Yet six months, four countries and $17,000 later, he found himself crammed in a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean alongside 85 others, screaming for their lives as seawater sloshed over the gunwales.




Amir Ali, who survived a failed attempt to reach Spain by boat, walks down a street near his home in Dera Bajwa, a village in Gujranwala district, Pakistan on April 23, 2025. (AP)

Forty-four fellow Pakistani migrants perished during the 10-day failed crossing in January from Mauritania’s coast toward Spain’s Canary Islands.

The deadly journey cast a spotlight on how globalized and sophisticated smuggling networks on the West African coast — and specifically Mauritania — have become. Interviews with survivors and relatives of migrants who died revealed how smugglers have adapted to tighter border controls and anti-migration policies across the Mediterranean and North Africa, resorting to lengthier, more dangerous routes.

Ali’s odyssey began last July. After making an initial deposit of 600,000 Pakistani rupees ($2,127), he went to Karachi airport, where he was told to wait for a shift change before approaching the immigration counter.

“The smugglers had inside help,” he said. He and other migrants were swiftly put on a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.




Amir Ali, who survived a failed attempt to reach Spain by boat, walks down a street near his home in Dera Bajwa, a village in Gujranwala district, Pakistan on April 23, 2025. (AP)

From there Ali boarded a second flight to Dakar, Senegal, where he was told someone would be waiting for him.

Instead, when he arrived he was told to go to the Senegal River bordering Mauritania, a seven-hour taxi ride north. He joined other Pakistanis traveling to the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. In each country he passed through, bribes were demanded for visas, Ali said.

Imran Iqbal, 42, took a similar journey. Like Ali, he flew from Karachi to Senegal via Ethiopia before reaching Mauritania. Other Pakistanis Iqbal met, he said, traveled through Kenya or Zimbabwe enroute to Mauritania.

WAITING GAME

Once in Mauritania, the migrants were taken to cramped safe houses where smugglers took their belongings and deprived them of food. “Our passports, our money — everything,” Iqbal said. “I was essentially held captive,” Ali said.




Villagers walk a loaded cart through a wheat field in Gajju, Pakistan, passing a house owned by a family that settled in Europe, on April 16, 2025. (AP)

During the six months Iqbal and Ali were in Mauritania, smugglers moved them repeatedly, beating them to extract more money.

While he managed to get some money sent from Pakistan, Iqbal did not tell his family of his dire situation.

“Our parents, children, siblings ... they would’ve been devastated,” he said.

Ali said the smugglers lied to their families in Pakistan, who asked about their whereabouts and questioned why they hadn’t called from Spain.

Finally, on Jan. 2, Iqbal, Ali and the other Pakistani migrants were transferred to an overcrowded boat that set course for Spain’s Canary Islands.

“On the day of departure, 64 Pakistanis from various safe houses were brought to the port,” Ali recalled. “The Mauritanian police and port officials, who were complicit, facilitated our transfer to the boats.”

“What followed were the hardest 15 days of my life,” Iqbal said.




Imran Iqbal, who survived a failed attempt to reach Spain by boat, tells his story during an interview with The Associated Press in Gajju, a village in Gujrat district, Pakistan, April 16, 2025. (AP)

Mauritanian authorities have launched several investigations into smuggling networks and, in the past two months, heightened surveillance at the country’s borders and ports, according to a Mauritanian embassy official in Madrid who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to comment publicly.

While migration to Europe has been falling steadily, the Atlantic Ocean crossing from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has reemerged since 2020.

Nearly 47,000 people disembarked in the Canaries in 2024, an increase from the nearly 40,000 in 2023, according to Spanish Interior Ministry figures.




An old map of Mauritania is displayed in a hostel in Nouadhibou, Mauritania on November 30, 2021. (AP/File)

Until recently, the route was mostly used by migrants from West African nations fleeing poverty or violence. But since last year, migrants from far-flung countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan have increasingly embarked on the fishing boats used to reach the European archipelago.

Smugglers connect with migrants locally in Pakistan and elsewhere, as well as on social media. Migrants post videos of their voyages on TikTok. Although some warn of the dangers, they also share idyllic videos of life in Europe, from Canary Island beaches to the bustling streets of Barcelona and Madrid. For many, Spain is just an entry point for continuing to France, Italy and elsewhere.

Chris Borowski, spokesperson for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, believes smuggling networks bringing Pakistanis and other South Asian migrants through the Canaries are still “testing the waters” to see how profitable it is.

However, experts at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime warn the route is here to stay.

“With the conflict landscape showing no sign of improvement, movement on the Canary Islands route looks set to increase,” the group warned.

“Because it remains the deadliest migration route in the world, this has severe humanitarian implications.”

The Atlantic Ocean crossing can take days or weeks. Dozens of boats have vanished.




A car is parked outside a big house in Dera Bajwa, Pakistan, that is owned by a family that settled in Europe, on April 23, 2025. (AP)

Exact figures don’t exist, but the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project recorded at least 1,142 deaths and disappearances last year, a number it calls a vast understatement. Spanish rights group Walking Borders reported nearly 9,800 victims on the Canaries route last year — which would make it the world’s deadliest migration route.

Only a tiny fraction of bodies are ever recovered. Some shipwrecked vessels have appeared hundreds of thousands of miles away, in the Caribbean and South America.

The boat Ali and Iqbal boarded had a 40-person capacity but was packed with more than double that. Immediately, there were fights between the Pakistanis and the Africans on board, they said.

The Associated Press wasn’t able to locate non-Pakistani survivors to verify the accusations, but reports of violence on the Canaries journey are frequent even among those of the same nationality and ethnicity. Dehydration can cause hallucinations, exacerbating tensions.

“The weather was terrible,” Ali said. “As water entered the boat, the crew threw our belongings and food into the sea to keep the boat afloat.”

On the fifth day, a man died of a heart attack, Ali and Iqbal said. More people perished every day, their bodies thrown overboard; while some died from hunger and thirst, the majority were killed.

“The crew attacked us with hammers, killing 15 in one night,” Ali said. Both men showed photos of injuries others sustained, although AP couldn’t verify what caused them.

“The beatings were mostly to the head — so brutal that people started losing their sanity,” Iqbal said. They prayed for a merciful death, convinced they had little chance of survival.

On the 10th night, after dozens had died, lights appeared on the horizon. They shouted for help. At daybreak, a fishing vessel approached, handing them food and water before eventually towing them to the West African coast two days later. Forty-four Pakistanis had died.




A man drives in front of a house under construction in Dera Bajwa, Pakistan, that is owned by a family that settled in Europe, on April 23, 2025. (AP)

“Only twelve bodies returned to Pakistan,” Ali said. “The rest were lost at sea.”

BACK AT SQUARE ONE

News of the failed journey made international headlines, prompting a pledge by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to go after smugglers.

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has arrested dozens of people suspected of arranging the journey or connections to the smugglers.

A nationwide crackdown was already underway, but smugglers change locations to evade capture. In Europe and Pakistan, smugglers who are caught are primarily low-level operatives, resulting in limited impact on the overall business.

Staring at the mansions being built around his modest brick home in the Pakistani village of Dera Bajwa, Ali reflected on his wasted journey.

“These are the houses of those who made it abroad,” Ali said. “People like me see them and dream without thinking.”


Pakistan ready to ‘fight’ in Asian Cup football qualifier against Myanmar today

Pakistan ready to ‘fight’ in Asian Cup football qualifier against Myanmar today
Updated 12 sec ago

Pakistan ready to ‘fight’ in Asian Cup football qualifier against Myanmar today

Pakistan ready to ‘fight’ in Asian Cup football qualifier against Myanmar today
  • Head coach Stephen Constantine says players have trained hard and will fight to win the game in Yangon
  • Pakistan lost their opening Group E match to Syria but have shown signs of progress under Constantine

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national football team is determined to fight to win in their crucial AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying clash against Myanmar today, Wednesday, head coach Stephen Constantine said, as the side looks to build on the momentum of last year’s improved performances.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference in Yangon a day earlier, the Pakistani coach acknowledged the challenges facing his squad but remained upbeat about their preparation and intent.

“For Pakistan, all of the games are difficult,” he said, according to a statement circulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. “But we have a good group of players. They have worked hard over the last few days and we will come here to try to win the game.”

Pakistan, who lost 2-0 to Syria in their opening Group E match, have shown signs of progress in recent international fixtures, including a spirited display in that match and a stronger showing overall in 2024 compared to previous years.

Constantine highlighted the importance of continuing that upward trajectory.

“We played quite well against Syria despite the result,” he said. “Every single game you play for Pakistan is important, even friendlies.”

Myanmar, who won their last match, will have home advantage at Yangon’s Thuwunna Stadium and are widely seen as favorites. But the Pakistani coach said his team remained focused and undeterred.

“They will be favorites for this game,” he said. “But we will fight like we do in every game and we will try to get the result that we want, which is to win. We didn’t come here to lose.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM Pakistan Standard Time (PST) today.


Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims

Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims
Updated 10 June 2025

Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims

Pakistan to kickstart post-Hajj flight operations today to bring back pilgrims
  • State media says Pakistan International Airlines’ flight carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad
  • Over 88,000 Pakistani pilgrims under government scheme to return to country via 362 flights, says state media

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will kickstart its post-Hajj flight operations to bring thousands of pilgrims back to the country from today, Tuesday, state-run media reported, adding that they would continue till July 10. 

Pakistan concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation last month, transporting more than 115,000 pilgrims to Ƶ under both the government and private schemes for the annual Islamic pilgrimage.

This year’s Hajj pilgrimage took place from June 4 to June 9, drawing millions of pilgrims to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Pakistan was among several countries managing large-scale contingents during the annual religious gathering.

“Post-Hajj flight operation to bring back Pakistani pilgrims is starting from Tuesday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday, quoting Secretary Religious Affairs Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman. 

Sharing details, Rehman said Pakistan International Airlines’ flight PK-732 carrying 307 pilgrims will leave Jeddah for Islamabad. 

“Similarly, the first post-Hajj flight from Madinah PK-7030 will depart for Lahore on Thursday,” Radio Pakistan said. “The national flag carrier will airlift 307 pilgrims.”

The Pakistani official said the flight operation would continue till July 10 during which a total of over 88,000 pilgrims under the government scheme will be transported to Pakistan via 362 flights.

“Meanwhile, Dr. Syed Ata ur Rehman highlighted that elaborate arrangements have been made for smooth transportation of the pilgrims back to their homeland,” the state broadcaster said. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday thanked Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the Kingdom’s “exceptional organization” of Hajj 2025. 

 

 

“Thank you for making this spiritual experience more comfortable and memorable for all those who performed Hajj this year,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. 


Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26

Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26
Updated 10 June 2025

Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26

Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26
  • Media reports say government likely to present Rs17.6 trillion ($62.45 billion) budget for budget 2025-26
  • Analysts expect increase of around 20 percent in defense budget likely offset by cuts in development spending

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will unveil its annual federal budget for the coming fiscal year later on Tuesday, seeking to kickstart growth while finding resources for an expected hike in defense expenditure following the conflict with India last month.

Islamabad will also have to contend with remaining within the discipline of its International Monetary Fund program and the uncertainty from new trade tariffs being imposed by the United States, its biggest export market.

Media reports say the government is likely to present a 17.6 trillion rupee ($62.45 billion) budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down 6.7 percent from this fiscal year. It has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP, against a targeted 5.9 percent deficit in 2024-25, the reports say.

Analysts said they expect an increase of around 20 percent in the defense budget, likely offset by cuts in development spending.

Pakistan allocated 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.45 billion) for defense in the outgoing fiscal year, including $2 billion for equipment and other assets. An additional 563 billion rupees ($1.99 billion) was set aside for military pensions, which are not counted within the official defense budget.

India’s defense spending in its 2025–26 (April-March) fiscal year was set at $78.7 billion, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year, including pensions and $21 billion earmarked for equipment. It has indicated it will step up expenditure following the May conflict with Pakistan.

The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has projected 4.2 percent economic growth in 2025-26, saying it has steadied the economy, which had looked at risk of defaulting on its debts as recently as 2023. Growth this fiscal year is likely to be 2.7 percent, against an initial target of 3.6 percent set in the budget last year.
Pakistan’s growth lags far behind the region. In 2024, South Asian countries grew by an average of 5.8 percent and 6.0 percent growth is expected in 2025, according to the Asian Development Bank.

RATE CUTS NOT ENOUGH

Expansion of the economy should be aided by a sharp drop in the cost of borrowing, the government says, after a succession of interest rate cuts by the central bank. But economists warn that monetary policy alone may not be enough, with fiscal constraints and IMF-mandated reforms still weighing on investment.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday that he wanted to avoid Pakistan’s boom and bust cycles of the past.

“The macroeconomic stability that we have achieved, we want to absolutely stay the course,” he said. “This time around we are very, very clear that we do not want to squander the opportunity.”

The budget is expected to prioritize expanding the tax base, enforcing agriculture income tax laws, and reducing government subsidies to industry, to meet the terms of a $7 billion IMF bailout signed last summer. Just 1.3 percent of the population paid income tax in 2024, according to the tax authorities, with agriculture and the retail sector largely outside of the tax net.

The IMF has urged Pakistan to widen the tax base through reforms which include taxing agriculture, retail, and real estate.

Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that he expected the revenue target for 2025-26 will be missed.

“The shortfall will mostly be owing to lack of optimal implementation of announced measures as well as absence of meaningful structural reforms to widen the tax net in general,” said Mobeen.

 ($1 = 281.8400 Pakistani rupees)
 


Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday

Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday
Updated 10 June 2025

Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday

Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday
  • Pakistan ranks among top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, faces irregular weather patterns
  • Heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan, says state broadcaster

ISLAMABAD: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s Punjab said this week that the ongoing heat wave in the country’s most populous province is likely to continue till Thursday. 

Pakistan’s Meteorological Department last week forecast that the ongoing heat wave in the country will continue throughout the Eid Al-Adha holidays . It said day temperatures are likely to remain 5°C to 7°C above normal in the upper half (central & upper Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan).

Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change and has faced increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent years, including deadly heatwaves and devastating floods.

“Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab has cautioned that current heat wave will likely to continue in the province till Thursday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report on Monday. “He said that the heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan of South Punjab.”

Director General of PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia said that under the chief minister’s directions, the supply of water is being ensured in the Cholistan desert region located in southern Punjab. He warned that special care of the children, elderly and the sick should be taken during this time period.

Pakistan experienced its most recent heatwave in May but no loss of life was reported.
In June 2024, nearly 700 people died in less than a week during a severe heatwave in the country, with most fatalities reported in the port city of Karachi and other parts of the southern Sindh province.

A similar heatwave in 2015 claimed over 2,000 lives in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi alone, while catastrophic floods in 2022 left more than 1,700 people dead and displaced over 33 million across the country.


From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion

From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion
Updated 10 June 2025

From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion

From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion
  • Cultural overlaps, thirst for diverse aesthetics reshaping industries in Gulf are offering vast opportunities for Pakistanis, Ali says
  • Artist says felt “empowered” while directing Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January

LAHORE: When one of Pakistan’s most renowned art directors Hashim Ali landed in the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this year, he wasn’t quite prepared for how much the city and its creative scene had transformed since he last visited around seven years ago.

Ali, who directed a Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January, was mesmerized by the cultural transformation in the Gulf nation, balancing its traditional heritage with modernization and global influences. 

In recent years, Qatar has established numerous museums, art galleries, and heritage centers, including the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and the National Museum of Qatar. The country has also emerged as a major player in the global art world, with significant investments in the arts and culture sector. 

Looking at the transformation, Ali said the time was ripe for Pakistani designers and artists to expand their reach to the Gulf, where cultural overlaps and a hunger for diverse aesthetics are reshaping creative industries.

“Everybody who asks me that we want to expand our business, I say expand to the Middle East because the way that region is growing, it’s not just the buildings, it’s the mindset and the heart,” Ali, who provides production design, art direction and styling services to various industries in Pakistan, told Arab News.

The 34-year-old art director, who graduated in Visual Communication Design from Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA), said his experience in Doha was quite “empowering” as he was able to present his hometown of Lahore to the world.

“You had this showcase of Pakistan, and the entire space was turned into a Chahar Bagh [Persian quadrilateral garden] for the night with oil lamps and flowers, all the napkins were hand-done from Lahore, we got block printers involved who did the Mughal motifs on them,” Ali said. 

“The entire experience was so almost empowering that you are bringing parts of Lahore to the world and you’re showing the world that we just not only do Sufi music, we do great fashion of different kinds.”

Ali, known for creating intricate and stunning sets, said Middle Eastern creatives responded to Pakistani culture because of the cultural and religious similarities between the two regions.

“So, the collaboration, it’s set in stone that it’s going to happen,” he added.