Desperate families await miracle as deadline looms

Rabia Ali:
KARACHI: After getting nothing but broken promises and false reassurances from the government, the families of the four Pakistani hostages who are being held by Somali pirates since last August are now seeking donations to meet the ransom deadline which ends on Friday.

With the clock ticking, the families of kidnapped Captain Wasi Hasan, Third Engineer Syed Alam, Chief Officer Ali Rehman and Diesel Mechanic Mohammad Muzamil have just two days left to raise the hefty US$500,000 amount demanded by the pirates. Failure to do so could result in fatal consequences for the four naval officers.

While talking to The News, the infuriated families slammed the government and were extremely disappointed by its indifference and silence over the matter. “These officials should put themselves in our shoes. But since we have no hopes pinned upon them for the release of our loved ones, those who wish to help us can donate money by depositing it in our bank account.”

Even twelve-year-old Laila, daughter of Captain Wasi Hasan, who earlier offered to sell her kidneys to raise the ransom money, was seen fuming on her way to her uncle’s house.

“My offer to sell my vital organs like my kidneys was not enough to move the government. What kinds of people do not listen to children? Hakumat Gandi Hai,” she lashed out.

The Somali pirates, who have been terrorising the seas for a while, gave a week’s deadline to the families of 22 hostages to arrange for two million dollars in ransom money.

The crew comprising 11 Egyptians, six Indians, four Pakistanis and a Sri Lankan were sailing aboard the MV Suez vessel and were quite near the Eritrean coast, when they were captured by the pirates in August of last year.

Out of the total ransom money, one million dollars have been paid by the Egyptian owner for whose Red Sea Navigation company the hostages worked. The remaining amount was to be shared between the Indians and the Pakistanis.

While India has done its bit and collected the required amount, it is only the Pakistani authorities that been left unmoved by the plight of the hostages and their families.

At Captain Wasi Hasan’s modest house in Buffer Zone, his 14-year-old son, Sarosh, looked through his father’s photo album. “He has diabetes and is very ill. The pirates give him boiled rice to eat and nothing else. Since the water is so salty, he mixes sugar in it and then drinks it,” he said in a low tone.

Little Laila, with tearful eyes, recalls the last time she talked to her father on April 8, which was also her birthday. “I kept on asking Baba to wish me, but he did not have the strength. His voice came out in the form of a whisper,” she recalled.

But it was Durdana, Hasan’s wife, who remembered her husband continuously reciting the Kalma the last time they spoke. “I was so frightened. It has been so many days and he has not called.”

Also present at their house, the mother and brother of Mohammad Muzamil shared their grievances. “We met the Sindh governor several times and he vowed to help us. The Foreign Office also told us not to worry. The leaders of political parties agreed to give us money. But they were all lying. There is no one to help us,” said a Burqa-clad Aisha, who is the mother of the 24-year-old hostage.

And it seems that there is nobody at the helm of affairs willing to help them either. Despite repeated attempts, the phone of the Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua was turned off while the Presidential Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar did not answer.

Meanwhile, Haider Abbas Rizvi, the MQM leader, which has assured the families of assistance, said that they have raised the matter in the National Assembly.

When asked if his party, which is the largest in the city, could help bring back the Pakistanis, out of which three are Karachiites, he said that such a hefty amount could only be raised by the government.

Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, Chairman of the Standing Committee for Interior Senate, said that he has written letters to the Foreign Office in order to awaken the government from its slumber. “We are trying to do all we can,” he said.

Only human rights activist, Ansar Burney, has been religiously following the case. Burney is currently in Dubai, holding talks with the Egyptian owner and trying to raise money. Sarim Burney, his brother while talking to The News said that the Pakistani government should take action immediately. “They should hold talks with the pirates and negotiate with them if they cannot raise the ransom money.” Commenting on the statement of Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, who had earlier told media personnel that the government cannot be threatened at gunpoint, he lashed out in anger and said “She can give a gold crown to a non-Pakistani, but she cannot raise a voice for innocent nationals.” And so with every passing minute, the anguish of the family members of the hostages is increasing. “For the last nine months, we have been shouting but no one has bothered listening to our pleas. Please help us now. It is so painful for a mother to know that if the money cannot be raised, her son would be killed,” said Aisha while breaking into tears.

People wishing to help can send in their monetary donations to Bank Al Habib in the name of Durdana Wasi/Aisha and the account number is 1066-0081-009278-01-9