ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani sailors freed from a tanker held by Somali pirates are scheduled to return home tomorrow, Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign minister said Friday, as authorities arrange the repatriation of three compatriots killed during the ordeal.

The Palau-flagged oil tanker MT Honour 25 was hijacked on April 21 off Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia, with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistanis. Regional security forces recovered the vessel on Sept. 29 after more than five months in captivity.

The recovery ended a prolonged hostage crisis during which families repeatedly protested in Karachi and appealed for government intervention. But the sailors’ return remains incomplete: three surviving Pakistanis are still aboard with the captain, while authorities are arranging to bring home the deceased.

The four returning sailors “have been safely retrieved and are scheduled to arrive in Karachi tomorrow, 3 October,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, said on X.

Dar credited efforts by the Foreign Office and Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti, which also handles diplomatic relations with Somalia. He identified the returning crew members as Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Usman Ghani.

He said authorities were expediting legal and other formalities to repatriate the remains of Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari, without giving an arrival date.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families, who are going through a deeply painful time,” he said.

Five sailors were killed, including the three Pakistanis and one each from India and Myanmar, according to Puntland authorities. Pakistan subsequently confirmed its nationals’ deaths and said three other Pakistanis were among four wounded crew members receiving hospital treatment.

Puntland’s maritime police said naval and ground units recovered the tanker near Bandar Beyla, a coastal district, detained suspected pirates and brought the vessel under regional government control.

The force said pirates killed the five sailors before the operation began. The precise circumstances of their deaths have not been independently verified.

Dar did not explain why the remaining three Pakistani survivors were still aboard or specify when they would leave the vessel.

“We are actively coordinating with our friendly countries to facilitate their safe extraction and earliest possible return to Pakistan, inshaAllah,” he said.