Three more Pakistani sailors on way home after release from pirate captivity in Somalia

ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani sailors, who were aboard an oil tanker hijacked by pirates in Somalia months ago, are on their way home, the Pakistani foreign minister said on Monday, after Somali authorities rescued the crew members.

The three men, Hussain Yousuf, Imran Ali and Muhammad Yaseen, were among 10 Pakistani crew members aboard the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25, which was hijacked off Somalia on April 21 and recovered from pirates in an operation on Sept. 29.

In a post on X, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday the three sailors had been successfully rescued and flown to Addis Ababa, accompanied by a team from the Embassy of Pakistan in Djibouti.

“The three crew members will be received in Addis Ababa and, God willing, depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi, expected on 7 October,” Dar said.

“We are deeply grateful to the Government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta, present in the vicinity of MT Honour 25, for their assistance and cooperation in securing the release of the crew.”

Dar’s statement came a day after the return of four Pakistan sailors and remains of their three colleagues, who had been killed by the pirates in captivity, to the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

The oil tanker, which had 17 crew in total, was recovered by security forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region in an operation that ended the months-long captivity. Five crew members were killed, including three Pakistanis, an Indian and a Myanmar national, while four others were injured, according to Somali authorities.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia sharply declined in the wake of international naval operations in early 2010s, but attacks and hijackings have surged again in recent years.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat maritime piracy and safeguard the security and freedom of international maritime routes,” Dar said in his X post.

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