4 Pakistani crew members from hijacked oil tanker to arrive in Karachi tomorrow: DPM Dar

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Friday that four out of the ten Pakistani crew members aboard the hijacked oil tanker MT Honour 25 would arrive in Karachi on October 3. The four individuals – Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams, and Usman Ghani – were successfully retrieved following "sustained efforts" by the Foreign Office and Pakistan's embassy in Djibouti.

Dar also mentioned that the remains of three other crew members who died tragically during the incident – Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer, and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari – were being repatriated to Pakistan. He emphasized that all necessary legal and other formalities were being expedited to facilitate the process, expressing heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.

Three additional crew members – Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad, and Syed Yousuf Hussain – remain on board the vessel, along with the captain. Dar stated that the Foreign Affairs Ministry, under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's leadership, is actively coordinating with friendly countries to ensure the safe extraction and return of all Pakistani nationals, including the bodies of the deceased, at the earliest.

The ministry is fully committed to supporting the affected families throughout this process. Initially, the tanker was hijacked off Somalia's southeastern coast on April 21 and was carrying oil destined for Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, with a total of 17 crew members on board, including the ten Pakistanis.