KARACHI: Police in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Monday briefly detained seven people from a protest camp led by families of 10 Pakistani sailors held by Somali pirates for nearly 140 days.

The Pakistanis are among 17 crew members aboard the Palau-flagged oil tanker MT Honour 25, which was seized by pirates off Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region on April 21.

Their captivity comes amid a sharp resurgence in piracy around Somalia and the Gulf of Aden after years of relative calm. The International Maritime Organization said last month that six vessels and more than 90 seafarers were being held by pirates and armed robbers in the region.

Families and supporters of the Pakistani sailors spent Sunday night protesting outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office on Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Faisal, seeking information about efforts to secure their release.

Naseem Khan, station house officer of Tipu Sultan Police Station, told Arab News that seven protesters had been detained and subsequently released.

He said the protesters had used loudspeakers without obtaining permission from police or the local administration and had refused requests to disperse despite negotiations through the night.

“We tried to negotiate with them throughout the night, but they did not listen to us,” Khan told Arab News. “We have now released them with a warning that if they want to protest, they should first obtain an NOC.”

A no-objection certificate, or NOC, is an official authorization commonly required by Pakistani authorities for public gatherings and demonstrations.

Khan said police were also exercising increased vigilance due to political activity and heightened security in Karachi.

Ayesha Ameen, whose husband Ameen bin Shams is among the captive sailors and who was among those detained, rejected suggestions that the protesters had caused disruption.

“We did not disturb anyone. We were peaceful, but the police detained us,” Ameen told Arab News after her release.

Mahwish Yasir, whose husband Yasir Khan is also among the captive sailors, was present during the protest but was not detained. Speaking outside Tipu Sultan Police Station, she confirmed that those detained had been released.

Yasir said a representative leading the families’ campaign remained inside the police station to discuss the situation and that the families would consult one another before deciding their next course of action.

The families also protested in Karachi’s Numaish area over the weekend, saying they had not spoken to the sailors for around a month and a half and warning they could launch a hunger strike if they continued to receive no clear information about progress toward their release.

The Honour 25 was among several vessels seized during a renewed wave of piracy around the Horn of Africa this year. The European Union’s Operation Atalanta, which conducts counter-piracy operations in the western Indian Ocean, said the tanker remained in Somali territorial waters, limiting the range of actions international naval forces could take.

The IMO said in July that crews aboard three vessels then being held, including the Honour 25, faced dwindling supplies of food and water and the threat of violence.

Pakistan says it has been pursuing diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to secure the sailors’ freedom.

The Foreign Office said in June that Somali authorities and the vessel’s owner were negotiating with the pirates and relevant tribes, while Islamabad was also exploring assistance from friendly countries and other interlocutors.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez in London last month and sought “urgent and effective institutional intervention” for the sailors’ early return.

Dar has also said Pakistan is bound by international maritime principles not to pay ransom to pirates and that Islamabad and the IMO have developed a strategy to address the hostage crisis, without publicly providing details.

Pakistan has said it is seeking continued supplies of food, drinking water and other necessities for the captive crew while efforts to secure their release continue.