Families of Pakistani hostages held by Somali pirates urge govt to form committee for their release

Father of one of hostages says he was going from place to place in distress in search of his son's safe recovery

The families of the Pakistani crew members aboard the Honor 25 oil tanker, seized by Somali pirates, are calling on the government to take immediate action and demand the formation of a committee.

In what appears to be a “ray of hope” for the families of hostages held by Somali pirates, direct contact has been established with the group that seized the Honor 25 oil tanker. The pirates have sent recent photographs of the 17 crew members being held hostage to the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, including 10 Pakistani citizens.

The Honor 25 was taken over on April 21 by Somali pirates near Somali waters. For the past two weeks, families of the kidnapped Pakistani crew members have been anxiously awaiting updates on their loved ones.

Ansar Burney, head of the welfare trust, said that while contact with the pirates had been established, no practical steps had yet been taken by the government.

Read: FO in touch with Somalia over hijack standoff

Qurat-ul-Ain Advocate, director of the Ansar Burney Trust, said the pirates had made it clear they would present their demands only to a representative of the Government of Pakistan. According to Qurat-ul-Ain, the pirates also claimed to have contacted the governments of Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, as seven crew members from those countries were also being held aboard the vessel.

On the other hand, the Government of Pakistan maintained that it was in contact with the pirates to secure the release of the Pakistani hostages.

Sixty-year-old Umar Farooq, father of one of the hostages, Kashif Umar, said he was going from place to place in distress in search of his son’s safe recovery.

Ali Akbar, brother of another hostage Imran Ali, appealed to the government to take immediate action for the safe return of all 10 Pakistanis. He said that seeing recent photographs of the hostages had brought some relief, as it confirmed they were still alive.

Families of the hostages also gathered at the Ansar Burney Trust office and collectively demanded that the government at least form a committee to keep them informed about efforts being made for their release. They said they did not know where to turn or whom to approach for help.

Last week, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during a weekly briefing that Pakistan was in contact with the Somali government over the hostage situation involving Pakistani sailors aboard the hijacked oil tanker, adding that it believed the crew members were safe.

Read More: Families seek urgent action as Somali pirates hold Pakistani crew

He said Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti had approached Somali authorities, including the foreign ministry, and was informed that the vessel was anchored off the coast of Eyl in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia.

“We have fair reason to believe that our crew members are safe and secure,” the FO spokesperson said, adding that the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been “very cooperative” and was closely monitoring the situation.