UN working with India to release Pak-bound ship

KARACHI: Efforts are underway for the release of a United Nations-contracted cargo ship, which was detained by India last week as it sailed towards Pakistan with decommissioned weaponry from a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, a UN official said.

The MV Aegean Glory, a 500-foot-long Panama-registered ship, was seized by Indian customs authorities on Friday 50 kilometres south of Kolkata, claiming suspicious military cargo.

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) “is working closely with Indian authorities to ensure the release of the cargo and to review the procedures that caused the confusion”, the official said.

“All cargo on board has UN markings and is being shipped under the authority of the United Nations,” he added.

The official said the ship’s cargo included surplus Pakistani and Bangladeshi military equipment and Nepalese vehicles belonging to UN peacekeeping troops.

The cargo was being returned upon completion of their deployment in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the official said.

According to press reports, the Pakistan Foreign Office strongly objected to the detention of the ship, saying the Indian government never informed them about the seizure of the ship.

The UN sent 15,000 troops into Liberia in 2003 after 14 years of civil war that claimed roughly 270,000 lives. In April, UNMIL began scaling back its presence after a UN and government assessment in 2007 that the country was gradually moving towards peace and stability.