Failed rescue mission

The recovery of the MT Honour 25 from Somali pirates should have brought relief after more than five months of captivity. Instead, it has ended in bereavement for the families of three Pakistani sailors. Of the total 17 hostages, including 10 Pakistanis, five were killed and four wounded before Puntland forces secured the tanker. For those who had waited since April for their loved ones to return home, the vessel's recovery is no substitute for the lives that were lost. The pirates carry responsibility for the killings. What remains unclear, however, is precisely how an operation intended to free the hostages culminated in their deaths. Survivors have said the captors opened fire on the crew when security forces closed in and the pirates began retreating. Puntland authorities have offered a different sequence, saying the five sailors were killed before the operation began. This discrepancy cannot be left unresolved. An authoritative account is now needed of the intelligence available beforehand and the circumstances in which force was authorised. Pakistan, too, has questions to answer since whatever diplomatic activity took place, it did not produce the outcome that mattered most. Islamabad must seek a detailed account from the Somali and Puntland authorities and establish whether Pakistan was informed of the planned operation and what safeguards were contemplated for the hostages. The families of the dead and injured are entitled to know why, after months of waiting, the final attempt to end their ordeal turned fatal. The surviving sailors have finally been freed. That is welcome. But three Pakistani families will receive coffins. The recovery of the ship cannot be allowed to close the matter. The circumstances of the deaths must be established and responsibility fixed where warranted.