Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday that the three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25, an oil tanker that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia in April, are expected to be flown back to Pakistan on Wednesday.

The maritime police force of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland said last week that it had recovered the MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged oil tanker with 19 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistanis, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in April.

The Foreign Office subsequently confirmed that three Pakistanis had died and several others were injured during the operation, later identifying the deceased as Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari. Four Pakistanis injured in the operation had arrived in Karachi on Sunday, with the remains of those killed.

In a post on the social media platform X, Dar said three crew members, Imran Ali, Muhammad Yasin and Syed Husain Yousuf, have been “successfully rescued” and flown to Addis Ababa — the capital of Ethiopia — accompanied by a team from the Pakistan embassy in Djibouti.

“The three crew members will be received in Addis Ababa and depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi,” Dar said, adding that this flight would be expected on Oct 7 (Wednesday).

He expressed his gratitude to the government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta for their assistance and cooperation in securing the crew’s release.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat maritime piracy and safeguard the security and freedom of international maritime routes,” he added.

Apart from Pakistanis, the vessel’s crew also included seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan. After the hijacking, months passed with no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages.

The hostages were said to be victims of an “ownership crisis”, as it was not clearly established who owned the ship — the man previously thought to be an owner was later revealed to be more likely a middleman who hired them.

Since its hijacking, the crew had made several emotional videos and audio appeals, reporting that they had run out of clean water, food and medicine. Meanwhile, their families launched an international appeal, calling on foreign governments, the United Nations (UN) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take coordinated action to help secure the release of their loved ones.

For its part, FO maintained that it remained “actively engaged” to secure the release of the sailors.

On Sept 29, Somali maritime police recovered the Palau-flagged oil tanker amid reports of casualties among the crew. During the operation, it said, 21 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continue.