The three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25, an oil tanker that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia in April, landed in Karachi on Wednesday.
According to Shaheen Burney, the vice chairperson of the Ansar Burney Trust, the three crew members arrived in the city at 4:40pm via an Ethiopian Airways flight from Addis Ababa.
Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi welcomed the crew members at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport upon their return, according to a press release. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and other dignitaries were also present.
The governor met the returning Pakistanis, inquired about their well-being and presented them with bouquets. He expressed solidarity with them, saying that the incident was extremely painful and highlighting that the “sufferings and hardships of the affected Pakistanis were being shared as a collective national concern”, the statement said.
Speaking to the media, the governor said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken special notice of the matter, issued necessary directives and remained continuously informed about the situation of the affected Pakistanis.
He said that, although no amount of money could compensate for the loss of a human life, the state would take “all possible measures” to support the affected families, particularly with regards to the education, healthcare and future of their children.
PM Shehbaz had issued clear directions regarding residential plots and arrangements for the education, upbringing and healthcare of the children of the affected families, he added, according to the press release.
Hashmi noted that the state would extend support to the affected families as far as possible, while any financial assistance received in this regard would also be given to the affected persons. The provincial government had also extended its full cooperation, he said.
“We are not here as representatives of any political party; we are here as Pakistanis. We have come to express solidarity with our brothers and assure them that they are not alone — the entire nation stands with them,” the statement quoted the governor as saying.
He added that the incident had once again demonstrated that “a united nation could face any kind of difficult situation”. He also prayed for the complete and speedy recovery of the returning Pakistanis.
In late September, the maritime police force of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland recovered the Palau-flagged oil tanker, which had 19 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistanis.
Of those 10, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed that three were among five crew members who died during the operation. Another four Pakistanis who were injured returned to the country on Sunday along with the remains of their three colleagues, with the government facilitating their repatriation via Ethiopia.
In an earlier post on X, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the remaining three crew members of MT Honour 25 — Imran Ali, Husain Yousuf and Muhammad Yasin — were “en route to safely return home to Karachi from Addis Ababa later today and will be reunited with their families”.
He said the Pakistani ambassador in the Ethiopian capital “met the three crew members and ensured that they were provided all necessary facilities and services during their stay” in Addis Ababa.
Dar noted that the FO and the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, “made every effort to secure the safe return of all our crew members”.
“While we welcome the safe return of our people, we remain deeply saddened by the loss of three Pakistani crew members. May Allah grant them eternal peace and give strength to their families.”
FM Dar reaffirmed that Pakistan “remains firmly committed to working with international partners to combat piracy and ensure the safety and security of seafarers and maritime routes”.
Apart from Pakistanis, the vessel’s crew also included seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan. After the April hijacking, months passed with no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages.
The hostages were said to be victims of an “ownership crisis”, as it was not clearly established who owned the ship — the man previously thought to be an owner was later revealed to be more likely a middleman who hired them.
During its ordeal, the crew made several emotional videos and audio appeals, reporting that they had run out of clean water, food and medicine. Meanwhile, their families launched an international appeal, calling on foreign governments, the United Nations (UN) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take coordinated action to help secure the release of their loved ones.
For its part, FO maintained that it had remained “actively engaged” to secure the release of the sailors.
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