Deputy PM thanks Singapore for role in releasing 31 Pakistani & Iranian seamen on vessels seized by US

Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, said in a May 15 post on X that 11 Pakistani nationals and 20 Iranian nationals who had been on vessels seized by the United States had been released.

The vessels had been near Singaporean waters, and Pakistan had reached out to Singapore earlier this month to help facilitate the repatriation of the seamen.

Mr Dar, who is also Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, expressed thanks to Vivian Balakrishnan, his counterpart in Singapore, as well as to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the government of Singapore, for their part in the matter.

“All individuals are in good health and high spirits. The welfare and well-being of Pakistanis abroad, particularly those in distress, remains our government’s highest priority,” he wrote.

At the time of his post, the seamen who had been on the vessels had reached Bangkok from Singapore and boarded the flight scheduled to reach Islamabad on the evening of May 15. From there, the Iranian nationals proceeded to their homeland.

Mr Dar said he was grateful for the continued support and engagement that Singapore had extended during the process of facilitating the release of the seamen. 

He also thanked Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi as well as the United States’ government for “close coordination in facilitating the smooth return of 31 Pakistani and Iranian nationals,” tagging US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.