The Afghanistan embassy in Italy said that 78 men from Afghanistan and Pakistan lost their lives in a shipwreck off the coast of Greece.

The embassy said in a statement that hundreds of refugees are feared to be missing and based on speculation between 400 to 750 passengers were on board.

“The refugees who are heading to Europe from Afghanistan to Europe, they are in fact traveling via Iran to Turkey and Greece and the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, and they are facing serious threats of robbery, kidnapping, and even assaults and deaths,” said Asifa Stanikzai, a refugees' rights activist.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the Foreign Ministry is in contact with the Greek officials and remains will be transported to Afghanistan after they are identified.

“Our foreign ministry is informed about it and is in contract with the countries where the ship has sunk. We first will identify how many of them are Afghans and we will transfer the corpses,” he said.

The Amnesty International said in a report voiced concerns about the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, saying that the government of Pakistan must urgently stop arbitrarily arresting and harassing Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, “many of whom are fleeing persecution by the Taliban, Amnesty International said today as it marks World Refugee Day.”

“It is deeply concerning that the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is not receiving due international attention. Being unable to return home or stay permanently in Pakistan, they are caught in an impossible situation from which there is no escape. Their ambiguous legal status and arduous processes for asylum or third country relocation have made them even more vulnerable,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia as quoted in the report.

“The crime of the Afghan refugees is not clear, and they are being arrested by the Pakistani military,” said Marriam, a refugee.

The Afghanistan’s Consulate in Karachi, Abdul Jabar Takhari, said that in his meetings with the Pakistani officials, he stressed on extension of refugee's cards or (POR) for the Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

“We want the Pakistan government and UN to extend the (expiration) dates of the identities of (refugees) so they are provided with resources. Otherwise, when the date of the cards expire, the police take them to prisons and their problems are increased,” Takhari said.