ISLAMABAD — Pakistani sailors held by Somali pirates for more than 100 days have issued a fresh appeal for help, saying several members of the crew are sick and have little or no access to medicine.
The crew members are aboard the Honour 25, a Palau-flagged oil tanker hijacked off the coast of Puntland, Somalia, on April 21. The vessel has between 17 and 19 crew members, including 10 Pakistanis. The remaining hostages are seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan.
In two video messages dated August 7 and broadcast by DawnNewsTV, the hostages appeared weak and distressed. They called on the Pakistani government to open talks with the pirates and take immediate steps to secure their release.
Yasir Khan, one of the Pakistani hostages, said many crew members had fallen ill and were without proper medical treatment. He appealed directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry.
“Please secure our release before it is too late,” he said.
Another hostage, Hussain Yousuf, said more than 100 days had passed without the crew knowing what would happen to them. He also urged the prime minister, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and other authorities to act before the families received “very bad news”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the government was deeply concerned and that an inter-ministerial process was under way. He said the Ministries of Human Rights and Maritime Affairs, along with other agencies, were monitoring the case.
Andrabi said negotiations were difficult because the hostages were being held in an autonomous region of Somalia, where tribal structures and local power figures complicated efforts to reach the pirates. He added that Pakistan remained in contact with Somalia’s government and international organisations.
The crew has previously reported shortages of clean water, food and medicine. A ransom reportedly demanded by the pirates is believed to be around $3 million, but there has been no confirmed progress in negotiations.
The latest message has renewed fears over the hostages’ health and placed fresh pressure on Pakistan to act before the long captivity turns into a deeper tragedy.
