Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry. Photos: Files
Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Monday that the government was “actively working” to secure the release of 10 sailors held hostage by Somali pirates on a ship for over a month.
The oil tanker Honor 25, sailing under the Somali flag from Oman to Somalia, was hijacked by pirates on 21 April. There were 17 crew members on board, 10 of whom were Pakistani nationals. The families of the Pakistani hostages have continuously appealed to the government for the safe release of their loved ones.
In video and audio messages, the Pakistani hostages reported that food supplies and medicine on the ship had run out. They said they only got one portion of boiled rice a day. Clean drinking water has also run out, forcing the hostages to drink contaminated water, causing disease among them.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs today said Chaudhry spoke to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar about the rescue of the imprisoned sailors and also contacted Pakistan’s ambassador to Somalia.
He also expressed concern over the deteriorating health of the crew members aboard the hijacked ship.
“The government is actively working for the safe return of Pakistani citizens,” the statement quoted the minister as saying, adding that Pakistan was in constant contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Somali Embassy.
He emphasized speeding up steps for an early and safe release of the crew, adding that humanitarian efforts were launched as soon as the incident was reported in April.
Last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan remained “actively engaged” in efforts to secure the release of the crew.
During a weekly media briefing, Andrabi acknowledged that the situation remained serious and complex. The maritime minister assured that Islamabad was in contact with the ship owner, also a main negotiator with the pirates, while the Somali government remained aware of the whole situation.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ship’s location and its highly explosive cargo significantly complicated the rescue effort.
The spokesman explained that any direct law enforcement operation could endanger the lives of the hostages, and authorities had prioritized negotiations and diplomatic engagement.
He had also called on the Somali government and the ship owner to ensure that the hostages were provided with food, drinking water and other basic amenities while negotiations continued.
Security analysts have warned that the latest incidents could signal a resurgence of opportunistic hijackings in the region, posing serious risks to international shipping and maritime crews.
Somali piracy attacks peaked in 2011, when armed groups launched operations as far as 3,655 kilometers from Somalia’s coastline, threatening one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.
