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Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaulah Khan revealed that around 350 Pakistanis were on board the migrant ship that sank in Greece on June 14.
Minister Khan said many of them are missing and may have died in one of the deadliest incidents in the Mediterranean.
Khan told MPs in Parliament that around 700 migrants were on the ship when it sank on June 14. Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued and 82 bodies were recovered. He pointed out that many of the missing Pakistanis have passed away.
"So far, 281 families have contacted the government saying that their sons or loved ones may have been among those on the ship," he said.
Officials are currently collecting DNA samples from people who say their family members were on the ship to help identify the bodies.
The government also launched a crackdown on human traffickers who organized the journey for Pakistanis, many of whom were seeking work in Europe, on a fishing vessel.
The police have so far arrested at least 17 suspects in connection with this case. Officials say the victims paid the smugglers between $5,000 and $8,000 for the trip.
Many of the missing Pakistanis are from the most populous eastern province of Punjab and remote towns in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region shared between Pakistan and India.
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