KARACHI: A senior official of the shipping ministry indicated on Thursday that a Pakistani vessel named Salama-I had been seized by pirates off Somalia a few days ago but added that more information about the incident was still awaited.

Asad Rafi Chandna, the director general of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, said he would share any new information with journalists if and when a credible source gave it to him.

Another government official said no demand for ransom had been received from the pirates yet.

For his part, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria declined to offer any comments on the matter. “I can’t comment as there are no credible reports in this regard,” he remarked.

According to a report published in the New York Times on Tuesday, Somali pirates had captured four vessels in the past one month. One of them was a Pakistani cargo vessel carrying food, which had been seized off the central coast of Somalia.

It was not known where the vessel was taken after being hijacked, said the report.

The report added that an Indian vessel was captured a week ago and was being held for ransom in the El Hur area of Central Somalia.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2017