MORE than three months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a multinational crew, including 11 Pakistanis, a safe return is still not in the offing. Fresh video footage shows stranded captives appealing to the government to negotiate with their captors “before it is too late”. Many are sick, and there is no access to medicine. Initially, Pakistan relied on a third party for updates. The Foreign Office recently stated that their release was “complicated and difficult”. New directives from the foreign minister emphasise consistent coordination, together with consolidated domestic and international diplomatic engagement to rescue the sailors. The lack of progress on the matter is very disheartening.

Ship owners often opt for flag vessels from countries that have scant or no regard for labour rights — and Pakistan is emerging as an appropriate choice. Accountability from official authorities and ship owners for the prolonged turmoil faced by the stranded mariners — along with adequate compensation for their families — should have long been instituted. A tracking dashboard operating in conflict-ridden waters to ensure navigational security and swift emergency responses is nowhere in sight. We forget that seafarers form the spine of global trade. Labour rights advocates must compel ship owners and other stakeholders to refrain from coercing sailors to venture into troubled waters. The future challenge for labour rights bodies involves empowering mariners to exercise their right to decline high-risk journeys without any consequences. For now, time is of the essence. Security agencies and the government must put in place a cogent international strategy and recognise the need for naval intervention. Unfortunately, official complacency conveys how dispensable ordinary citizens have become. That feeling will only change if actions are more effective. The well-being of every Pakistani must take precedence over any other state or global concern.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026