Pirates off the coast of Somalia. – Reuters/file
KARACHI:
The tanker, flying the Somali flag, was transporting oil from Oman to Somalia when pirates seized it on April 21. Among the ten Pakistanis kidnapped, eight are from Karachi.
Mehwish gets emotional remembering the moment on April 21 when she spoke to her husband, Yasir Khan, on the phone around 4:30 p.m.; the pirates then took control of the ship.
She says her husband abruptly ended the call, saying pirates had taken over their ship.
The next call comes on April 24, from the captain’s phone, during which Yasir informs him that each hostage is being guarded by an armed pirate equipped with heavy and dangerous weapons.
Yasir has worked as a boiler operator in the maritime industry since 2009. Mehwish says he left the profession after their marriage in 2010 because he couldn’t bear to stay away from his children. After a gap of 16 years, he rejoined the ship and came on board on the 17th of this month.
Yasir’s eldest son, seven-year-old Bashar, is pleading for his father to be brought back to Pakistan as quickly as possible. His youngest son, Umar, does not fully understand the situation but knows that “pirates are thieves” who kidnapped his father.
Every Pakistani detained by pirates has a heartbreaking story. In an audio message circulating on social media, a man named Amin can be heard crying and telling his father that pirates are about to kill him, asking him to take care of his wife and two children.
Amin’s wife Ayesha told The Express PK Press Club that the message was received on April 21 and he seemed extremely distressed. Amin had recently joined the merchant navy as a fitter.
He traveled from Pakistan to Oman in early December and his son was born in the last week of December. He has not yet seen his only child.
Among the captives is Rafiullah, a resident of Manora Cantt in Karachi. His brother Sanaullah said that on April 24, the pirates allowed each hostage to make a five-minute call to his family.
During the call, Rafiullah revealed that the ship, its cargo and the pirates themselves all belong to Somalia. Sanaullah added that their parents are ill so they have not yet been informed about Rafiullah’s kidnapping.
Kashif Umar, a resident of Karachi Buffer Zone, has been associated with the merchant navy for 25 years. His son Izhar Umar said their last contact was on April 23, when his father reported that food supplies on board the ship had run out.
Social worker and human rights lawyer Ansar Burney told The Express PK Press Club that rumors are circulating about ransom demands, but no such demands have been made so far. He said no formal steps have yet been taken at the government level for the release of Pakistani captives.
Of the ten Pakistani hostages of the tanker “Honor 25”, one belongs to Sahiwal in Punjab and another to Swabi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The remaining crew includes four Indonesians and three individuals from India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
