ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday that the three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25, an oil tanker hijacked off the Somali coast in April, are expected to return to Pakistan on Wednesday.
The Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 was seized off Puntland on April 21 with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistanis.
Puntland forces recovered the vessel this week after pirates killed five sailors, including three Pakistanis, and wounded four others.
The Foreign Office later confirmed that three Pakistani crew members were killed and several others injured during the recovery operation. The deceased were identified as Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari.
The three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25 (Imran Ali, Muhammad Yasin and Syed Husain Yousuf) have been successfully rescued and flown to Addis Ababa, accompanied by a team from the Embassy of Pakistan in Djibouti.
The three crew members will be received in Addis Ababa and, InshaAllah, depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi, expected on 7 October.
We are deeply grateful to the Government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta, present in the vicinity of MT Honour 25, for their assistance and cooperation in securing the release of the crew.
Pakistan remains firmly committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat maritime piracy and safeguard the security and freedom of international maritime routes.
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) October 5, 2026
Four injured Pakistani crew members arrived in Karachi on Sunday
Four injured Pakistani crew members arrived in Karachi on Sunday along with the remains of those killed in the operation.
“The three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25 (Imran Ali, Muhammad Yasin and Syed Husain Yousuf) have been successfully rescued and flown to Addis Ababa, accompanied by a team from the Embassy of Pakistan in Djibouti,” Ishaq Dar said in a post on X.
“The three crew members will be received in Addis Ababa and, InshaAllah, depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi, expected on 7 October,” he said.
We are deeply grateful to the Government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta, present in the vicinity of MT Honour 25, for their assistance and cooperation in securing the release of the crew.
He expressed his gratitude to the government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta for their assistance and cooperation in securing the crew’s release.
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“Pakistan remains firmly committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat maritime piracy and safeguard the security and freedom of international maritime routes,” he added.
PM announces relief package
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a relief package worth Rs12.5 million for the families of the deceased Pakistani sailors, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Friday.
The package includes financial assistance, free housing and free education for the children of the deceased, according to the PMO.
The prime minister also spoke by telephone with Azhan Kashif, son of the deceased sailor Syed Kashif Umar, to offer his condolences and express his grief over his father’s death.
