The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday granted post-arrest bail to a man accused in a human-smuggling case linked to a boat that capsized off the Libyan coast, killing 73 migrants. The court held that a mere transfer of money into an accused's bank account is not sufficient evidence of guilt unless it is directly tied to his knowing involvement or to an organised criminal network. Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq, deciding the bail petition of Muhammad Tahir, observed that investigators had established only that funds were routed through an account bearing the petitioner's name, the Madina Traders account, but had themselves found that the account was actually operated and controlled by a third party, Akbar Ali of Gojra.
That finding, the court said, left the prosecution's case against Tahir without the evidence needed to link him either to an organised smuggling group or to show he had received the money with active knowledge of its purpose. On that basis, the court held the petitioner had made out a case for further inquiry and ordered his release on bail against surety bonds of Rs0.5 million. The tragedy behind the case The case stems from the sinking of a migrant boat off Libya on the night between April 5 and 6, 2026, in which 73 people died, including a young man named Ameer Hamza Shoukat.
According to the FIR lodged by his brother, Kamran Shoukat, Hamza had been persuaded in 2025 by an alleged agent, Luqman Hakeem of Tehsil Phalia, District Mandi Bahauddin, who promised to arrange his travel to Italy for Rs3.5 million. Read: 50 migrants feared lost off Libya The family said they paid instalments into several accounts, including one linked to Khurram Shahzad, another to Zohaib Haider, one to AK Air Travels, and Rs0.9 million to the Madina Traders account associated with Tahir. Hamza was allegedly routed to Libya via Saudi Arabia, where he was held captive and further ransom payments were demanded before the fatal voyage.
The FIR was registered at Police Station FIA CC, Gujrat, under provisions of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, and the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act, 2018. Defence and prosecution arguments Tahir's counsel argued that his client had never met the complainant or the victim, and that his alleged role rested on a single financial transaction, one that investigators themselves had traced back to Akbar Ali's control.
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