IndianTiger
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Jun 13, 2011, 06.22am IST TNN
[ Mateen Hafeez ] MUMBAI: It has been two
months since the Indian Navy
rescued five Pakistani crew
members of an Iranian fishing
trawler from the clutches of
Somalian pirates but they are not sure if they would ever
be able to return home. The
five are caught between the
diplomatic channels of the
neighbouring countries, with
the Mumbai police saying they had asked the Pakistani
embassy to take its nationals
back and the latter claiming
they had not got the
permission from the Indian
ministry to come to Mumbai and meet the five. We have sent letters to the Pakistani embassy but they
have not even come to us to
enquire about their nationals.
Over the phone they said they
were verifying the various
documents and would claim their nationals soon, said the police , adding that the
Pakistani embassy had not
even shelled out a single
penny for the expenses being
incurred on the sailors. We are in touch with Pakistani
embassy office bearer Altaf
who has promised to
reimburse all the bills for food
and other amenities that we
are giving to the five, said inspector M G Tope. The five
have been identified as
Aurangzeb Nabi Bakhsh
Balloch(24), his younger
brother Sajjad Ali Balloch (19),
Lal Bakhsh Murid Khan (20), Farhad Aalam Khan (24) and
Mohammed Umair (18). Pakistani officials seem to be
keen to help their
countrymen but apparently,
they are not getting the
permission. The embassy wants to take the sailors back
but the Indian home affairs
department is not allowing
me to go out of Delhi range.
We have not been given
permission to meet them, a Pakistani embassy official told
TOI. We have written to the MHA but they are not
responding . The embassy
officials are also in touch with
the hostages and preparing
travel papers. The ordeal for the five
Pakistanis , employed on the
fishing trawler, Al-Murtuza ,
started in December last year
when Somalian pirates
hijacked their vessel and imprisoned all 18 crew
members, six Pakistanis and
12 Iranians. On March 12, the
Indian Navy finally rescued
the ship from the pirates
whom they caught 290 nautical miles from
Lakshadweep. During that time, the navy
rounded up 106 pirates in
several raids and also rescued
70 hostages , belonging to
Thailand, Philippines,
Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Myanmar and Pakistan .
Subsequently, the other
countries claimed their
nationals back, but Pakistan is
yet to take home their five
rescued hostages , who are now at the Yellow Gate police
station. The Balloch brothers are from
Karachi and their three friends
are from Sindh in Pakistan .
On fishing trawlers, I earn Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 (Pakistan
currency) a month. My
brother worked in a tailor s shop and wanted to work
with me. It was his first trip, Balloch told TOI. Tope said through the
ministry of home affairs they
told the Pakistani embassy on
May 7 that they would take
the hostages to New Delhi
where their nationality could be verified. However, the officials did not turn up, he said. A Pakistani embassy
official, however, claimed
they were not told that the
hostages would be produced
before a panel for
verification . The five were again brought
back to Mumbai and sent to
the Yellow Gate police
station . Dreaming of home, all
they do is brood, sitting
outside the police station, or talk about their families. Son
of a farmer, Farhad Khan, said,
Sahab, I want to go home. I have four brothers . I spoke
to them over phone and even
they are crying for me. Do
something for us so that we
could go back. Even the policemen are at a
loss and trying their best to
help them. The cops made
arrangements for them to call
home and also pay for their
clothes and other amenities. A local restaurant takes care of
their meals. They are not criminals, they are hostages.
We just want that the
Pakistani embassy to come
and take its men back, added Tope.
---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 PM ----------
m.timesofindia.com/city/mumbai/No-one-to-take-Pakistani-sailors-home/articleshow/8831905.cms
---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM -----
[ Mateen Hafeez ] MUMBAI: It has been two
months since the Indian Navy
rescued five Pakistani crew
members of an Iranian fishing
trawler from the clutches of
Somalian pirates but they are not sure if they would ever
be able to return home. The
five are caught between the
diplomatic channels of the
neighbouring countries, with
the Mumbai police saying they had asked the Pakistani
embassy to take its nationals
back and the latter claiming
they had not got the
permission from the Indian
ministry to come to Mumbai and meet the five. We have sent letters to the Pakistani embassy but they
have not even come to us to
enquire about their nationals.
Over the phone they said they
were verifying the various
documents and would claim their nationals soon, said the police , adding that the
Pakistani embassy had not
even shelled out a single
penny for the expenses being
incurred on the sailors. We are in touch with Pakistani
embassy office bearer Altaf
who has promised to
reimburse all the bills for food
and other amenities that we
are giving to the five, said inspector M G Tope. The five
have been identified as
Aurangzeb Nabi Bakhsh
Balloch(24), his younger
brother Sajjad Ali Balloch (19),
Lal Bakhsh Murid Khan (20), Farhad Aalam Khan (24) and
Mohammed Umair (18). Pakistani officials seem to be
keen to help their
countrymen but apparently,
they are not getting the
permission. The embassy wants to take the sailors back
but the Indian home affairs
department is not allowing
me to go out of Delhi range.
We have not been given
permission to meet them, a Pakistani embassy official told
TOI. We have written to the MHA but they are not
responding . The embassy
officials are also in touch with
the hostages and preparing
travel papers. The ordeal for the five
Pakistanis , employed on the
fishing trawler, Al-Murtuza ,
started in December last year
when Somalian pirates
hijacked their vessel and imprisoned all 18 crew
members, six Pakistanis and
12 Iranians. On March 12, the
Indian Navy finally rescued
the ship from the pirates
whom they caught 290 nautical miles from
Lakshadweep. During that time, the navy
rounded up 106 pirates in
several raids and also rescued
70 hostages , belonging to
Thailand, Philippines,
Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Myanmar and Pakistan .
Subsequently, the other
countries claimed their
nationals back, but Pakistan is
yet to take home their five
rescued hostages , who are now at the Yellow Gate police
station. The Balloch brothers are from
Karachi and their three friends
are from Sindh in Pakistan .
On fishing trawlers, I earn Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 (Pakistan
currency) a month. My
brother worked in a tailor s shop and wanted to work
with me. It was his first trip, Balloch told TOI. Tope said through the
ministry of home affairs they
told the Pakistani embassy on
May 7 that they would take
the hostages to New Delhi
where their nationality could be verified. However, the officials did not turn up, he said. A Pakistani embassy
official, however, claimed
they were not told that the
hostages would be produced
before a panel for
verification . The five were again brought
back to Mumbai and sent to
the Yellow Gate police
station . Dreaming of home, all
they do is brood, sitting
outside the police station, or talk about their families. Son
of a farmer, Farhad Khan, said,
Sahab, I want to go home. I have four brothers . I spoke
to them over phone and even
they are crying for me. Do
something for us so that we
could go back. Even the policemen are at a
loss and trying their best to
help them. The cops made
arrangements for them to call
home and also pay for their
clothes and other amenities. A local restaurant takes care of
their meals. They are not criminals, they are hostages.
We just want that the
Pakistani embassy to come
and take its men back, added Tope.
---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 PM ----------
m.timesofindia.com/city/mumbai/No-one-to-take-Pakistani-sailors-home/articleshow/8831905.cms
---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM -----
