Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that four of the 10 Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25, an oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates, had been “safely retrieved” and were scheduled to arrive in Karachi on Oct 3.
The four crew members — Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Usman Ghani — were retrieved following “sustained efforts” by the Foreign Office (FO) and Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti, Dar said.
Meanwhile, the “mortal remains” of three Pakistani crew members — Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari — who “tragically” lost their lives were also being repatriated to Pakistan.
“All necessary legal and other formalities [were] being fast-tracked to expedite the process,” Dar said, adding: “My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families, who are going through a deeply painful time.”
The remaining three Pakistani crew members — Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad and Syed Yousuf Hussain — remain aboard the vessel, along with the captain, Dar said.
“We are actively coordinating with our friendly countries to facilitate their safe extraction and earliest possible return to Pakistan,” he said.
Dar said the Foreign Affairs Ministry, under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, “remains fully seized of the matter” and was continuously making every effort to ensure the return of all Pakistani nationals, including the bodies of the deceased, at the earliest.
The ministry, he added, would continue extending “all possible support” to the affected families.
Armed pirates hijacked the oil tanker off the southeastern coast of Somalia on April 21. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had said the vessel, which was transporting oil to Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, had 17 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistanis.
Somali maritime police on Sept 29 had recovered the Palau-flagged oil tanker amid reports of casualties among the crew.
“The naval and ground units of the Puntland Maritime Police Force conducted a planned operation in the Dharin-Bar area of Bandar Beyla district,” the maritime police had said in its initial statement.
In another statement, it announced that the operation had concluded and the recovered vessel “is now safe and under the Puntland government’s control”.
During the operation, it said, 21 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continue.
“Before the operation begun, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India,” it said.
Reuters earlier reported, citing Puntland’s state television, that the detained pirates would be brought to court.
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