Four Pakistani sailors return home after five months in Soma

Four Pakistani sailors return to Karachi after more than five months in captivity aboard hijacked MT Honour 25, while remains of three Pakistani crew members killed during the ordeal are repatriated. Three other Pakistani sailors remain aboard the vessel awaiting company clearance. Four injured sailors arrive in Karachi after MT Honour 25 hijacking, while families mourn three who died in captivity Five crew members killed in ordeal; three Pakistanis, one Indian and one Myanmar national Three Pakistani sailors remain aboard vessel as families await their return after months of uncertainty KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani sailors returned home on Sunday after spending more than five months in captivity aboard a vessel hijacked by Somali pirates, while the remains of three of their colleagues who died during the ordeal were also repatriated. The four injured crew members — Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams and Usman Ghani — arrived in Karachi from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and were taken to hospital following their arrival. Two of them are expected to later travel to their respective home cities. The remains of Mahmood Ahmed Ansari, Syed Kashif Umer and Rafi Ullah Khan were received separately through the airport's cargo terminal. The men were among 10 Pakistani crew members aboard the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25, which was hijacked off Somalia on April 21 and remained in captivity for more than five months. The development followed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's directives on Sunday for immediate measures to ensure the safe repatriation of Pakistani citizens killed and injured in Somalia. According to a spokesperson, the four injured Pakistani citizens — Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Yasir Khan — were flown to Karachi aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-694. The bodies of three deceased Pakistanis, identified as Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umar and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari, were also brought to Karachi on the same flight. The flight was scheduled to arrive at Karachi airport at 4:40 p.m. local time on Sunday. Pakistan's Ambassador to Ethiopia Atif Aziz and Pakistan's Ambassador to Djibouti Aqsa Nawaz saw off the injured citizens and the remains of the deceased at Addis Ababa Airport. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif continuously monitored the entire repatriation process to ensure smooth coordination and prompt assistance. 'What should I tell you? Only we know what we went through,' Ameen bin Shams, one of the injured sailors, told Arab News shortly after returning to Karachi. For families who had waited months for their relatives to return, Sunday's arrival brought relief alongside grief for those who did not survive. The tanker was recovered by security forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region on Sept. 29 in an operation that ended the months-long captivity. Five crew members were killed, including the three Pakistanis, an Indian national and a Myanmar national, while four others were injured. For the families of the surviving Pakistani sailors, their return brought an end to months of uncertainty over their fate. 'Tears of joy came to my eyes,' Musarrat Jabeen, mother of Yasir Khan, told Arab News after seeing her eldest son. 'I was desperate to see him, just wanting my child to arrive,' she said. 'He is a bit injured, but he came back alive and safe.' Yasir's wife, Mahwish Yasir, said she had mixed emotions as her husband returned alive while three other families received the remains of their loved ones. 'I am very saddened for the three people who were martyred, but I am also happy for my husband because he has returned alive,' she told Arab News. 'He is injured. Insha'Allah, we will help him recover.' She said the couple's children had decorated their home for their father's return but criticised the government's handling of the families during the months their relatives were held captive. 'Today, when we should have been inside [the airport facility] and we should have been the first to see his face, the government is seeing his face first, the same government that didn't even ask about us for 163 days,' Mahwish said. 'I am very disappointed in the government.' Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi said the government would support the families of the deceased sailors. 'The prime minister has stated that the responsibility for the education, upbringing and health of the children of the deceased is ours,' Hashmi said. 'The state will do whatever it can for them.' Hashmi also referred to the government's previously announced assistance of Rs12.5 million and housing support for each of the families of the deceased sailors. Three other Pakistani sailors — Hussain Yousuf, Imran Ali and Muhammad Yaseen — remain aboard MT Honour 25 along with its captain. Qurratulain Muhammad Anis, legal adviser to the Ansar Burney Trust, which assisted the sailors and their families, told Arab News that the remaining three crew members were safe and would return to Pakistan later as they were awaiting clearance from their companies. 'They are waiting for clearance from their companies,' she said.