KARACHI(National Times)- Just days after kidnapped sailors from MT Honour 25 were reunited with their families, another Pakistani seafarer\u2019s family is seeking the return of his mortal remains, following his demise after his ship came under attack near the Strait of Hormuz last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muhammad Hammad Obaida, a third engineer and crew member aboard the Panama-flagged oil tanker MT El Gaia, was killed in an attack on the vessel on Sept 13, off the coast of Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly a month on, however, the grieving family in Pakistan, including his three-year-old son and pregnant wife, is still waiting for his repatriation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Media reports provide conflicting accounts of the incident, which took place north of Oman\u2019s Musandam peninsula. According to multiple accounts, the tanker came under attack on Sept 13, while Reuters reported that it was towed to an Omani port around five days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While US and Iranian authorities traded blame over who was behind the strike, the bodies of two sailors \u2014 a Pakistani and an Indian \u2014 who had perished in an engine room fire were only discovered days after the incident, when the men were found to be missing during a headcount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Hammad\u2019s family, they came to know about the incident through one of his colleagues on Sept 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hammad had left home only a few days earlier, on Sept 6. Just a day before the attack, he had spoken to his mother over a video call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was showing me around the ship\u2026 He was happy to be back at work,\u201d his mother, Ather Pervaiz, told Dawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hammad, 34, was a qualified marine engineer who had graduated from Glasgow University in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When his younger brother Fawwad took out his phone to show us a picture, Hammad\u2019s three-year-old son, Musa, who had been busy playing with blocks on the floor, suddenly looked up and ran to take the phone from his uncle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is my Baba,\u201d the toddler exclaimed, adding, \u201cHe is with Allah Mian [God Almighty] now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He kissed the phone screen as both his elders struggled to hold back tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHammad\u2019s son needs to say a final goodbye to him. His young widow is expecting their second child. His father, brother, sisters and I have accepted what happened as God\u2019s will. But please bring us his remains so that we can at least give him a respectful burial,\u201d Ms Pervaiz said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fawwad explained that despite writing countless letters and rea\u00adching out to the Pakistan Embassy in Oman, the Foreign Office and the prime minister through social media, the family had received no clear official response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also approached the Sindh government\u2026 and were told that the matter was in the government\u2019s knowledge,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DNA sample<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fawwad said the Pakistani embassy in Oman had confirmed that two bodies were awaiting DNA testing in the country, but no Pakistani authority had collected a DNA sample from the family to expedite identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am also in touch with Vivek, the brother of Indian seafarer Sumit Kumar, whose body was found alongside my brother\u2019s,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When contacted, the Foreign Office confirmed that the bodies of a Pakistani and an Indian seafarer were lying in a hospital mortuary in Oman, awaiting DNA testing for identification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to Dawn\u2019s query, the FO spokesperson said the bodies had been severely disfigured, making DNA testing necessary and delaying the repatriation of the remains to their families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI(National Times)- Just days after kidnapped sailors from MT Honour 25 were reunited with their families, another Pakistani seafarer\u2019s family is seeking the return of his mortal remains, following his demise after his ship came under attack near the Strait of Hormuz last month. Muhammad Hammad Obaida, a third engineer and crew member aboard the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n