A special Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying four injured Pakistani crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 and the mortal remains of three dead sailors landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Sunday. Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and provincial ministers Saeed Ghani and Syed Nasir Hussain Shah were among the senior government officials present at the airport to receive the victims and oversee arrangements.
The injured survivors include Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams, and Yasir Khan, while the deceased are Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer, and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari. "I feel very good to be back in my homeland," injured survivor Ameen Bin Shams told the media upon his arrival, while Aqeel Khan also expressed happiness at returning to Pakistan after being seen off in Addis Ababa by Pakistan's ambassadors to Djibouti and Ethiopia.
The repatriation follows an operation by Puntland authorities in Somalia that freed the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 - seized on April 21 about 30 nautical miles off the coast - capturing 16 pirates in an incident where five crew members died. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif previously announced Rs12.5 million in financial assistance, free education, healthcare, and a house for each family of the three slain Pakistani sailors, alongside directing authorities to provide the best medical care for the injured and secure the safe return of remaining sailors.