Hostage says Somali pirates got no response from Pakistan government

Usman Ghani, fourth engineer aboard the hijacked oil tanker MT Honour 25, says Somali pirates holding the vessel have received no response from Pakistani authorities despite direct outreach.

The claim emerged from a phone call shared widely on social media, weeks after the tanker was seized off Somalia's coast on April 21.

What did the hostage say about Pakistan's response to the pirates?

Speaking on behalf of his captors, Ghani said the pirates had scanned crew passports, emailed Pakistani officials and received no reply. He relayed their account directly: "He is saying we had sent a mail ... and sent it, but no response has come from their side yet."

The exchange points to a gap between the pirates' claims and public statements by Pakistani intermediaries.

How did the phone call between the hostage and Pakistani intermediaries unfold?

The call was facilitated through a pirate acting as translator and connected Ghani to Shaheen Burney, wife of human rights activist Ansar Burney. Ghani relayed questions from the captors, asking whether any Pakistani authority had responded to them.

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Burney told him that, based on news reports, Pakistani authorities had indicated they were engaged on the issue.

Ghani then conveyed the pirate side's position: no response had come. When asked whether the pirates had contacted other authorities or communicated formal demands, Ghani said they had not. "They haven't talked about demands to anyone yet," he said.

The call appeared to be part of early communication efforts between those holding the vessel and Pakistani intermediaries.

What has Pakistan's government said about the MT Honour 25 hijacking?

Pakistan's Foreign Office has said it is in contact with Somali authorities following the hijacking, which involves a multinational crew that includes Pakistani nationals.

Officials said the vessel is anchored near Eyl in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, where Somali authorities are monitoring the situation and engaging with relevant parties.

The Foreign Office has said it has "fair reason to believe" the crew members are safe and that contact exists between the ship's owner and the captors.

Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi said on April 27 that the 11 Pakistani crew members had not been abandoned and that authorities had been directed to pursue efforts for their release.