Six Indian sailors,who were part of the 22-member crew of the MV Suez vessel that was recently freed by Somali pirates,reached the Karachi harbour today and would be on their way to India soon. Pakistan naval ship PNS Zulfiqar carrying the 22-member crew of MV Suez,including six Indians,reached the Karachi harbour amid an emotional welcome. Suhail Izaz Khan,Counsellor from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad,received the sailors. Somali pirates released the crew of the Egyptian-owned ship,who were held by the pirates for about 10 months,after a huge ransom was paid to them. Our gesture is the message of love. I hope that India too will reciprocate with love because Indian sailors have also been saved. I heard about their families through the media. I even talked to some of them. They were really upset, Sindh Governor Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan said. In India,family members of the released sailors expressed their joy at the reports of the sailors reaching Karachi. I am very happy to hear the news. In the last one week,there had been problems with the ship. I last spoke to my husband when he was getting on to the Pakistani ship as MV Suez was sinking, an overjoyed Madhu Sharma,wife of sailor N K Sharma,said. Shamsher Singh,father of another sailor Satnam Singh said he had lost hope for the return of his son. I had completely lost hope. But after I spoke to Ansar Burney in April,my hopes were rekindled, he said. Burney,a Pakistani human rights activist and former federal minister,was instrumental in getting the hostages released. Burney thanked all those who were involved in the operation to rescue the sailors. The Pakistan Navy had launched Operation Umeed-e-Nuh (New Hope) to rescue the crew after MV Suez captain Wasi Hasan requested the evacuation of his crew to save their lives. The release of crew members was immediately mired in controversy,with both India and Pakistan accusing each other of indulging in risky and dangerous manoeuvres when the freed merchant vessel was being escorted. The crew,including 11 Egyptians,four Pakistanis and one Sri Lankan,were shifted to Pakistani warship PNS Babar after the MV Suez ran out of fuel and started sinking. The crew was then transferred to another warship,PNS Zulfiqar,for the voyage to Pakistan. The MV Suez,owned by an Egyptian company,had been first boarded by Somali pirates in August last year.
