Pakistanis Thank the Indian Navy for Rescuing Them From Pirates
Indian Navy’s INS Sumitra successfully rescued Pakistan flagged Fishing Vessel (FV) Al Naeemi from Somalian pirates off the east coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea.
"Thank you, thank you hamara jaan bachaya (you saved our lives)” That’s how Pakistanis & Iranians expressed their gratitude by saying this line again and again to the Indian navy officials for rescuing them from pirates. But why did this happen?
On the morning of 29th January 2024, an Pakistan-flagged Fishing Vessel - FV (fishing ship) named Al Naeemi with 19 Pakistani crew was hijacked by Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia in the Arabian Sea. After some time, when pirates sighted the Indian Navy warship INS Sumitra approaching, they got scared and tried running away. The Indian Navy was patrolling the area under the Anti-Piracy and Maritime Security Operations East of Somalia and Gulf of Aden. They had rescued 17 crew members of Iranian flagged merchant vessel MV Iman from the Somali pirates just one day before on 28th January 2024. INS Sumitra reached Al Naeemi after receiving distress messages regarding the hijack and intercepted it. The navy officials of INS Sumitra followed the standard operating procedure (SOPs). They fired "warning shots" but the pirates didn’t surrender. The Indian Navy then deployed its Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv to fly over the hijacked ship to further scare the pirates. Next, the marine commandos of INS Sumitra invaded the hijacked ship through an inflatable tugboat and took control of it. The pirates surrendered by dumping their weapons and all 19 Pakistani crews were successfully rescued. The Indian Navy happily shared the news about the successful rescue operations on social media. They also shared a video of the rescued crew members sharing their ordeals and thanking them. The video has gone viral on social media and has received high positive feedback. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar said India’s “greater capability, our own interest and reputation today warrant that we actually help in difficult situations". Both the operations have made India proud. Do you think Akshay Kumar will make a movie on this too?
