Peshawar: Describing Pakistani establishment as a “democratic and military mafia”, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has made a scathing attack on it in the wake of capsize of a boat off the coast of Greece in which hundreds of illegally-travelling Pakistanis are believed to have died.
The Italy-bound boat, which sank last week, had around 800 people on board, including hundreds of Pakistanis who were aiming to reach the European shores illegally.
According to media reports, 81 bodies have been retrieved from the sea while 104 survived. There is hardly any chance of finding anybody else alive, the local authorities have reportedly said.
“A few days ago, when a boat overturned in Greece, hundreds of people lost their lives, including about 300 of our Pakistani brothers,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said in a statement.
He said these were the people who were disappointed with their future in Pakistan and did not want to live in Pakistan.
Khurasani said Pakistan was such an impoverished country that its people do not have enough money to go abroad by legal means. “They try to go clandestinely through forests and rivers but only a few can reach the destination,” he noted.
At the same time, he expressed regret that educated and capable youth were compelled to leave Pakistan because they cannot get good jobs under the “democratic and military mafia” in the country.
“It is also a matter of regret that among these youths, there were such capable and educated youths who could work in good posts in the country. But where does the democratic and military mafia here allow them to do so? Here, the posts can be obtained due to inheritance or bribery,” the TTP spokesman observed.
The Islamist organisation, which is fighting for ushering Sharia rule in Pakistan, has been blaming the military for all the ills in the country.
