ISLAMABAD – The Ministry of Interior has issued punishments against 7 FIA Assistant Directors in the Spain Boat Tragedy 2025 case, yet the surprising part is that a similar case occurred in 2023 known as the Greece Boat Tragedy, where officers received the harshest possible penalties, while this time the standard of punishment has been completely different.
In the 2025 case, the Ministry handed major penalties to three officers—Abdul Jabbar Mendhro, Abu Bakar Usman, and Behzad Azam—demoting them by three years in grade and post. The remaining five officers received minor penalties, including one- to two-year scale reductions, such as Azhar Riaz, Abdul Qayyum, Rizwan Naeem, and Saad Umar Riaz. All of them were accused of misconduct for allegedly facilitating the clearance of passengers involved in the Spain Boat Tragedy, whereas the officers claimed in their defense that all passengers travelled with valid documents and that too outside their official duty hours, meaning no SOP or rule was violated. However, the Ministry rejected their justification and imposed the punishments.
The real uproar, however, emerged from the striking contrast: two boat tragedies, two inquiries, similar allegations, but two completely different standards of justice. This contradiction has sparked a wave of questions within the department, summed up in the now-popular line: Two boat tragedies… but two completely different versions of justice. Why were officers in the 2023 Greece Boat case directly removed from service, while in the 2025 Spain Boat case only grade cuts were considered sufficient? Was leniency deliberately extended to some officers? Was the earlier inquiry excessively strict? Or was there pressure from influential quarters this time? Internal circles are calling this disparity a serious question mark on transparency. Sources say all officers retain the right to appeal, and some are expected to challenge the Ministry’s decision. Nevertheless, the two boat incidents have exposed two entirely different justice mechanisms within the same system, raising a fresh debate as to why the standard of punishment was not kept uniform.