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Pakistan to repatriate 30 Iranian seamen rescued at sea by UK, US

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan announced on Wednesday that it will repatriate approximately 30 Iranian seamen who were recently interdicted by US authorities and rescued separately by a British vessel.

The announcement came from Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in a post on social media platform X.

The group includes eight Iranian fishermen who were rescued at sea by a British vessel after their boat ran aground, and 22 Iranian crew members from the vessel Lenore/Davina, which was recently interdicted by US authorities.

Both groups are expected to transit through the port city of Karachi in the "coming days," Dar said.

"Pakistan remains committed to humanitarian cooperation and to extending every possible assistance to our Iranian brothers," the foreign minister stated.

"We remain in close coordination with the Iranian, US and UK authorities to ensure the safe transit and early return of our Iranian brethren to their homeland," he added.

The development comes just days before the United States and Iran are set to sign a landmark memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, aimed at ending their months-long conflict.

Pakistan has played a mediating role in the US-Iran negotiations, alongside Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently announced the breakthrough agreement between Washington and Tehran.

The repatriation of the Iranian seamen underscores Pakistan's ongoing humanitarian cooperation with its western neighbour, with whom it shares a 900-kilometre border.

Further details regarding the exact timing of the seamen's arrival in Karachi and their subsequent transfer to Iran have yet to be disclosed.