Four Pakistani sailors freed from Somali pirates land in Karachi today after five months in captivity

Four Pakistani sailors freed after more than five months in captivity aboard the tanker MT Honour 25 are scheduled to land in Karachi on Sunday, a day later than previously announced, Dunya News reported.

Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Usman Ghani are booked on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET694 from Addis Ababa, scheduled to arrive at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport at 4:40pm on October 4, according to a travel itinerary seen by Arab News.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the four sailors would arrive on Saturday, crediting efforts by the Foreign Office and Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti, which also handles diplomatic relations with Somalia. The delay was not explained.

The Palau-flagged oil tanker was hijacked on April 21 off Puntland with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistanis. Puntland’s maritime police recovered the vessel on September 29 after more than five months in captivity.

Authorities are still arranging the repatriation of the bodies of three Pakistanis — Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari — killed during the ordeal, with no arrival date given. Three surviving Pakistanis remain aboard the tanker with the captain, and Dar said Pakistan was coordinating with friendly countries for their extraction.