Four out of ten Pakistani crew members taken hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia have been released. They are expected to arrive in Karachi on Saturday.
Sea-news.az citing Dawn, reports that Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated in a post on X that the release of the mariners was made possible through the sustained efforts of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s embassy in Djibouti.
The minister also announced that the remains of three deceased Pakistani crew members had been repatriated and expressed his condolences to their families.
According to Ishaq Dar, three more Pakistani sailors, along with the vessel’s captain, remain on board. Negotiations with friendly nations are ongoing to secure their safe release and return to Pakistan.
According to the EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta, the Palau-flagged oil tanker “Honour 25” was hijacked by pirates north of the Somali coast on April 21 while en route to Mogadishu. A total of 17 crew members were on board the vessel.
