Karachi police briefly detain families of hostage sailors

Families of Pakistani sailors held hostage by Somali pirates for more than four months were briefly detained by police during a protest on Sharea Faisal on Monday.

The sailors are part of the crew of MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged oil tanker hijacked by armed pirates off Puntland, Somalia, on April 21. The vessel has 10 Pakistani sailors on board, along with crew members from Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka.

The families have staged several protests demanding the safe release of the sailors. They began an overnight sit-in on Sunday outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ liaison office and planned to march towards the Supreme Court registry on Monday.

Police reached the protest site before the planned march and detained several protesters. They were taken to the Tipu Sultan police station and were released later.

Ayesha Ameen, whose husband Ameen Bin Shams was serving as a fitter aboard the tanker, said the protesters were kept at the police station for several hours. She alleged that police prevented relatives from meeting the detainees and misbehaved with them.

She claimed that 11 protesters were detained, including women, elderly people and underage individuals. A police official confirmed that those detained had subsequently been released.

The families said they had been demanding the sailors’ recovery for more than four months but had seen no significant progress. They urged the government to take immediate action to secure their release.

The reported ransom demand is around $3 million. The situation has also been complicated by uncertainty over the ownership of the tanker. The man initially believed to be the vessel’s owner was later reportedly identified as a middleman who had hired the crew.

The hostages have made several emotional appeals since their capture. They have complained about shortages of clean water, food and medicines.

In their latest known video message, released on August 7, the sailors appealed directly to the Pakistani government for help. They appeared weak and distressed and urged authorities to negotiate with the pirates.

The Pakistani government has said diplomatic efforts are underway to secure the sailors’ release. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for urgent institutional intervention and directed relevant stakeholders to intensify diplomatic engagement with national and international partners.