Four Pakistani crew members rescued from hijacked MV Honour 25

Four of 10 Pakistani crew members affected by the hijacking of MV Honour 25 off the coast of Somalia have been safely retrieved and are scheduled to arrive in Karachi on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

In a post on social media platform X, Dar said the safe retrieval of the four crew members was made possible through sustained efforts by the Foreign Office and Pakistan’s Embassy in Djibouti.

The four crew members are Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Usman Ghani.

Dar said the mortal remains of three Pakistani crew members who died in the incident were also being repatriated to Pakistan.

The deceased were identified as Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari.

He said all necessary legal and other formalities were being fast-tracked to expedite the repatriation process.

Dar expressed condolences to the bereaved families, saying they were going through a deeply painful time.

Three other Pakistani crew members, Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad and Syed Yousuf Hussain, continued to remain aboard the vessel along with the captain, he said.

Pakistan was actively coordinating with friendly countries to facilitate their safe extraction and earliest possible return to the country, Dar said.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, remained fully seized of the matter and was continuously making every effort to ensure the return of all Pakistani nationals, including the bodies of the deceased, at the earliest.

The government would continue extending all possible support to the affected families, he added.