Local daily Kathimerini, a publishing partner of the New York Times, quoting Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, reported earlier this week that the minister would be contacting the embassies of Pakistan and Bangladesh over the matter as the migrants were "not entitled" to asylum or international protection in Greece.

Around 250 people from the two countries were among 381 migrants who arrived in Greece on October 31 on board a cargo ship that had broken down in international waters off Crete.

A non-profit humanitarian aid organization, Intersos, said 192 of the migrants were from Pakistan, 112 from Afghanistan, 56 from Bangladesh, while the rest were from Egypt (5), Lebanon (4), Syria (4) and Iran (2).

In a series of tweets, Mitarakis termed the migrants journey "dangerous and illegal".

He urged the European Union "to act and provide impactful solidarity and ensure the EU/Turkey statement [regarding the migrants] is upheld".

Mitarakis further said the "dangeous journey" was facilitated by "criminal gangs" and that "Greece cannot solve the migration crisis alone".