MT Honour 25: Four injured Pakistani sailors, remains of three arrive in Karachi

The four injured Pakistanis — Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams and Yasir Khan — arrived at Jinnah International Airport on Sunday aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 694. The remains of Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari were also brought back to Pakistan.

Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi received the injured sailors at the airport and attended the funeral prayers of Mahmood Ahmad Ansari, offering condolences to his family. Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani and MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar were also present to receive the returning crew members.

Two of the injured sailors are from Karachi, while the other two are from Sahiwal and Peshawar. The injured from the latter two cities were expected to travel to their hometowns later on Sunday.

The remains of Rafi Ullah Khan were handed over to his family, with his funeral prayers scheduled after Isha prayers.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said its ambassadors to Djibouti and Ethiopia had seen off the four injured crew members and the three deceased sailors in Addis Ababa before their flight to Karachi.

The sailors were among 10 Pakistani nationals aboard MT Honour 25, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in April. The tanker was recovered by Puntland security forces on September 29 after more than five months of captivity.

Three Pakistanis — Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari — were among five crew members killed during the recovery operation. The other two victims were an Indian and a Myanmar national, according to Pakistani and Puntland authorities.

Four crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indonesian or Indian national according to differing reports. Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that the injured Pakistanis were receiving medical treatment before arrangements were made for their repatriation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had earlier said the four injured Pakistanis were safely retrieved through efforts by the Foreign Office and Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti. He also confirmed that the remains of the three Pakistani sailors were being repatriated.

Dar said three other Pakistani crew members — Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad and Syed Yousuf Hussain — remained aboard the vessel with its captain at that stage. Pakistan was coordinating with friendly countries to facilitate their safe extraction and return.

The tanker, which was carrying 10 Pakistanis among its crew, had been held by Somali pirates since April. Reports said the pirates had initially demanded a ransom of $3 million before lowering the amount during the prolonged captivity.

The recovery operation has drawn scrutiny after five crew members were killed. Puntland authorities said the pirates had killed the five sailors before security forces secured the vessel, while the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust gave a different account, saying the hostages were fired upon as Puntland forces approached.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a relief package of Rs12.5 million for the families of the three Pakistani sailors killed in the incident.

The repatriation of the injured sailors and the remains of those killed marks the latest stage in Pakistan’s efforts to bring home the crew members affected by the months-long hijacking and its deadly recovery operation.