Pakistani sailor recalls long ordeal

Survivor describes how rescue operation turned vessel into battlefield

KARACHI:

For Pakistani sailor Ameen bin Shams, freedom did not come quietly. After five and a half months in the hands of Somali pirates, it arrived in the middle of a night of gunfire, when armed forces closed in on the vessel carrying the hostages and the pirates refused to surrender.

"Every moment we spent in the captivity of Somali pirates felt like years. We lived in constant fear of death, never knowing when the pirates might kill us," said injured Pakistani sailor Ameen bin Shams.

The nightmare he and his fellow crew members had feared eventually unfolded after Somali security forces launched an operation against another vessel anchored some distance from the Honour 25 and managed to free it.

The development sent the pirates aboard the Honour 25 into a panic. They ordered the crew to start the ship's engines and move forward. It was nighttime, and the Somali naval vessel was approximately 10 nautical miles away.

"That night was nothing short of a nightmare. The pirates gathered all of us on the ship's deck in freezing temperatures. We remained there throughout the night without proper clothing or footwear," Ameen said.

At daybreak, the pirates allowed the crew to go below deck. But just as the sailors were preparing to rest, they were ordered back onto the deck. All crew members, except Imran and Hussain Yousuf, were tied to the deck railing.

Imran later informed the Ansar Burney Trust by phone that he and Hussain Yousuf were inside the ship's main engine room while the remaining crew members had been taken back onto the deck by the pirates.

By then, the pursuing Somali naval vessel had reduced the distance to just one nautical mile. Security personnel gave the pirates 30 minutes to surrender the vessel and release the hostages, but they refused.

According to Imran, gunfire then erupted, with bullets penetrating the interior of the vessel. The intense exchange of fire continued for more than two hours.

There were 41 pirates aboard the Honour 25. During their five-and-a-half months in captivity, the crew members had come to know most of the pirates by name, while the pirates also knew the sailors' names.

Imran said a pirate identified as Arab panicked during the operation and opened fire in the section of the vessel where the hostages had been tied.

The security forces eventually gained control of the ship. Five pirates were killed in the operation, while 13 others were injured and arrested.

For the Pakistani crew, however, the rescue came at a devastating cost.

Second Officer Kashif Umar, boiler operator Rafiullah and Third Officer Mahmood Ansari were killed in the shooting. Their bodies, along with four injured Pakistani sailors, were repatriated to Karachi on Sunday via Addis Ababa aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET694.

The injured sailors were identified as Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams, Yasir Khan and Yaseen. They underwent medical examinations at the Border Health Services facility at Karachi airport before being taken to Aga Khan Hospital, where they are receiving treatment.

Ameen's wife, Ayesha, said her husband had sustained four bullet wounds and had been admitted to the hospital.

At Jinnah Cargo Terminal, a large number of relatives gathered to receive the bodies of the three sailors who had died in captivity. Emotional scenes unfolded as grieving family members consoled one another after months of uncertainty and fear.

Sindh Governor Nihal Hashmi, along with delegations from the Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, welcomed the injured sailors and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

The governor presented bouquets to the injured sailors and assured them of the government's full support. The PPP delegation included provincial ministers Nasir Shah and Saeed Ghani, along with Waqar Mehdi, while the MQM-P delegation was led by Farooq Sattar.

Speaking to the media, Nasir Shah described the incident as a shared loss and said the three political parties stood with the injured sailors and the families of those who died.

For the families, the long ordeal had not ended with the return of the sailors. It had changed into mourning and questions over what might have been done to bring the hostages home alive.

The father of Rafiullah said the family had surrendered to Allah's will, adding that his son had died bravely and embraced martyrdom. He said that when the ship was hijacked, Rafiullah had told his younger brother to take care of his children.

His father said one of the pirates fired shots into the air while fleeing, causing bullets to ricochet and hit the crew. Rafiullah, he said, was struck in the neck and was not directly targeted during the operation.

The family of Mahmood Ansari also described the conditions endured by the hostages. His son said they had been kept in extremely poor conditions, were not given proper food and were repeatedly forced to drink polluted water.

Muzammil, son of Mahmood Ansari, told the media at the airport that the families had repeatedly appealed for the safe recovery of the hostages but that the government had failed to listen.

"What is the point of offering compensation now?" he questioned.

The bodies of all three deceased crew members have been handed over to their families, who are making arrangements for their funerals.