Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has vowed urgent action after being briefed on the dire plight of Pakistani ship crewmembers being held hostage by pirates near Somalia.
During a meeting at the Bilawal House on Tuesday, PPP MNA Abdul Qadir Patel informed the party chief about the hijacking of the oil tanker MT Honour 25, seized by maritime pirates off the Somali coast.
According to the briefing, the 17-member crew includes 10 Pakistani nationals, with six hailing from Karachi, and others from Swat, Bajaur, Sahiwal and Mardan. The situation of the hostages is reported to be deeply alarming. Pirates are allegedly subjecting the oil tanker crew to violence, while the captives are also facing a severe shortage of food. The humanitarian crisis has intensified concerns at the highest political level.
The PPP chief emphasised that Pakistan would not leave its citizens at the mercy of pirates. He called upon officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the foreign affairs director general, to take immediate and effective steps to secure the safe release of the Pakistani seafarers.
The briefing also revealed that Indonesia has already initiated contact with the pirates to secure the release of its seven nationals among the crew, highlighting the urgency for Pakistan to escalate its diplomatic efforts.
Separately, the PPP chief held a series of meetings with senior party leaders and lawmakers at the Bilawal House to review political and regional matters. He met PPP Gwadar leader Ijaz Baloch to discuss public issues faced by the people of Gwadar, and potential solutions. In another meeting, PPP leader Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr briefed the party chief on the prevailing political situation.
Manzoor Wasan, member of the PPP’s Central Executive Committee and senior vice president of the party’s Sindh chapter, also met the PPP chief to deliberate on the province’s political landscape.
Moreover, senior parliamentarian Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah discussed the broader national political scenario with the party chief. The series of engagements reflects an intensifying focus within the PPP leadership on both humanitarian crises abroad and evolving political dynamics at home.
A day earlier, Sindh Governor Syed Muhammad Nehal Hashmi had said continuous contact was being maintained with the federal minister for maritime affairs for the recovery of the Pakistani seafarers kidnapped by Somalian pirates, adding that the matter was under serious consideration.
Quoting the foreign secretary, Hashmi said the relevant embassy is making all-out efforts to secure the release of the hostages. The governor expressed these views while speaking at a press conference at the Governor House. Families of the kidnapped individuals were also present on the occasion.
Hashmi said communication with the hostages remains intact, and efforts for their safe recovery are ongoing at all levels. He also said that discussions regarding the recovery of the hostages are under way with the European Union as well.
