KARACHI: The four Pakistanis who were injured during a security operation to recover a hijacked oil tanker off the coast of Somalia, along with the remains of three others who lost their lives in the episode, have departed Addis Ababa and are expected to reach Karachi Sunday evening.
“Pakistan’s ambassadors to Djibouti and Ethiopia saw off the four injured Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25, Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams and Yasir Khan, along with the mortal remains of Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari, from Addis Ababa.
“They are arriving in Karachi today aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 694,” a post on the Foreign Office’s (FO) said.
The seven were among 10 Pakistanis aboard MT Honour 25, which was hijacked by Somali pirates in April. In addition to Pakistanis, the vessel’s crew included seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan.
For around five months, there had been no progress either in negotiations or in the payment of the ransom, said to be around US$3 million, for the recovery of the hostages, despite concerns abounding about their declining health.
Since the hijacking, the crew made several emotional videos and audio appeals, reporting that they ran out of clean water, food and medicine.
For its part, the FO maintained that it remained “actively engaged” in securing the sailors' release.
On Sept 29, Somali maritime police recovered the Palau-flagged oil tanker amid reports of casualties among the crew.
During the operation, it said, 21 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continued.
“Before the operation [had] 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.
Advocate Quratulain of the Ansar Burney Trust, however, gave a different account, saying the pirates brought the hostages onto the deck when they realised Puntland forces were approaching.
“They tied their hands and warned to kill them if the police force came anywhere near them without paying them the ransom,” she said, adding that the ransom demand had by then been reduced from an initial US$3 million to US$1 million.
She said the pirates opened fire on the hostages as the security forces proceeded with the operation, killing three Pakistanis, one Indian and one Myanmar national.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a relief package worth Rs12.5 million for the deceased sailors’ families.
