Fatwa issued against illegal overseas travel
Fatwa comes in light of frequent migrant boat tragedies causing deaths.
At least 44 Pakistanis killed after in latest boat capsizing near Morocco.
Decree says anyone who ends his life could never be allowed in Islam.
Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia has issued a religious edict against the use of illegal means to travel abroad from Pakistan, The News reported on Saturday.
The religious decree has been issued by Dr Mufti Raghib Hussain Naeemi and Mufti Imran Hanfi. The decree said that using illegal means to go abroad is not only unlawful and also violates Shariah.
It said that committing suicide or taking any step that threatens one’s life is against the principles of Islamic Shariah.
Anyone who ends his life or takes a step that leads to his death could never be allowed in Islam under any circumstances, the decree said and advised people considering going abroad to use legal and safe means for going to other countries.
It further stated that it is unlawful for any agent or middleman to take money for any such act of illegal foreign travel, and called upon the government to adopt a law to act against agents who endanger the innocent lives of the countrymen.
The decree comes after a boat carrying migrants, which included 66 Pakistanis, capsised off Moroccan coast, killing at least 50 people.
The ill-fated boat departed from Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants on board. Moroccan authorities reported that 66 of the passengers were Pakistani nationals and noted that it had rescued 36 people after the accident.
Human trafficking and migrant boat tragedies have become alarmingly frequent, claiming the lives of many Pakistanis in recent months. At least 80 Pakistanis lost their lives when boats carrying them capsized near Greece on the night of December 13-14, 2024.
One of the deadliest incidents, however, remains the Greek boat tragedy, where a fishing trawler crammed with migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Greece, killing hundreds, including 262 Pakistanis, in 2023.