Somali Pirates: Ransom money transferred

KARACHI: Social worker Ansar Burney has confirmed that the ransom demanded by the Somali pirates has been transferred into the account of the shipping company, Red Sea Navigation. The Pakistani hostages will be released soon, he assured. Burney told Express News that with the recent transfer of $600,000, the total amount of ransom has reached $2.1 million. He criticised the Indian parliamentarian, K D Singh, for delaying the payment. According to Burney, he did not fulfil his promise, “leaving us with no option but to arrange the ransom on our own”. The documents confirming the transfer would be dispatched to the pirates and then Burney will go to Yemen. Once the hostages are released, he will return to Cairo.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2011.