By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Friday that he has asked Singapore to assist in the welfare and repatriation of 11 Pakistani and 20 Iranian seafarers aboard vessels seized by the United States that are now positioned near Singaporean waters.
In a post on X, Dar said he had spoken by telephone with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and requested the Southeast Asian nation’s support. He expressed appreciation for the cooperation Singapore has already extended and said Pakistan’s Foreign Office and other authorities were coordinating closely with US officials and other parties “to ensure the safety, welfare, and earliest possible return of our nationals.”
Dar added that he had also spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and that the two governments remained in close coordination. “Pakistan also stands ready to facilitate the safe repatriation of Iranian nationals to Iran via Pakistan,” he wrote.
The outreach to Singapore came a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Office described the conversation between Dar and Balakrishnan, which it said occurred on Thursday. According to the Foreign Office, Balakrishnan appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability, including by facilitating dialogue between the United States and Iran. The two ministers discussed maritime affairs and recent incidents in international waters, agreed that relevant authorities in both countries would coordinate closely, and reviewed bilateral relations while underscoring the value of high-level exchanges. They pledged to remain in touch.
The episode is the latest example of Pakistan positioning itself as a diplomatic conduit amid escalating tensions in the Gulf. It comes days after Pakistani authorities helped repatriate crew members from a separate US-seized Iranian vessel; at least 15 sailors reached Pakistan on Monday in what the Foreign Office described as a confidence-building measure.
That vessel, a small container ship belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines — a group already under US sanctions — was boarded and seized by American forces on April 19 off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. US Central Command said at the time that the crew had failed to comply with repeated warnings issued over a six-hour period and that the ship was in violation of the U.S. blockade.
In a separate telephone call with Dar on Thursday, Araghchi thanked Pakistan for facilitating the repatriation of Iranian nationals from the seized vessels and expressed appreciation for Islamabad’s diplomatic and humanitarian support. The current situation unfolds against a backdrop of severe disruption to one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel began bombing Iranian targets on Feb. 28. Vessels attempting to transit the strait have reported being fired upon, and Iran has seized several other ships. Last month, the United States imposed its own blockade on vessels departing Iranian ports.
Hundreds of ships and roughly 20,000 seafarers remain stranded inside the Gulf, with traffic through the strait severely curtailed by renewed attacks this week. On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that an oil-products tanker carrying Chinese crew members had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing was deeply concerned but reported no crew casualties.
The shaky truce between Washington and Tehran, reached on April 8, came under further strain Friday. The two sides had exchanged fire earlier in the week as the United States awaited Tehran’s response to a US proposal aimed at halting the fighting while leaving unresolved such contentious issues as Iran’s nuclear program. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire was still holding.
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