ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that Islamabad was bound by international maritime rules to not pay ransom to secure the release of its sailors held by Somali pirates, stressing that Islamabad and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have developed a strategy to tackle the crisis.
Dar met IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez in the UK this week to discuss the issue of 10 Pakistani seafarers who are being held hostage by Somali pirates since April.
Pakistan has undertaken efforts to secure the release of the sailors, who were aboard the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 oil tanker. Families of the Pakistani hostages have urged the government to intensify efforts to ensure the safe return of the sailors, saying the crew had run out of clean drinking water and were surviving on limited food supplies in captivity.
“There are certain international principles and maritime rules that have to be followed, and Pakistan also follows them,” Dar told reporters at the Pakistan High Commission in London.
“One of those principles is that you do not negotiate or pay ransom to secure the release of your people, because that would encourage the pirates to repeat the same thing, particularly by targeting countries or ships whose owners are willing to pay ransom.”
The deputy premier, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, said he had a “good meeting” with the IMO secretary-general over the matter.
“We discussed the issue and developed a strategy,” Dar said, without further discussing the matter.
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said earlier that Islamabad has urged Somalian government and the owner of the MT Honour 25 to ensure that food, drinking water and other basic necessities continue to be supplied to the hostages while negotiations remain underway.
The foreign office spokesperson said in June that law enforcement action to secure the release of the hostages is “a bit difficult” as the oil tanker is carrying explosive cargo.
