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ISLAMABAD: A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, which caught fire after an Israeli drone attack off the Yemeni coast and had 24 Pakistanis among its multinational crew, has finally departed port with its crew, who were detained by the Houthis after the incident, according to two government functionaries on Saturday.

The foreign office said in a statement the incident occurred on 17 September, when the LPG tanker caught fire, leaving the vessel stranded at port. It did not provide details on what triggered the blaze. However, the country’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi attributed the fire to an Israeli drone attack and said the crew were subsequently held captive on the ship.

Local media had earlier reported the Pakistani nationals were “stranded” after the fire.

“An LPG tanker with 27 crew members (24 Pakistanis, including Captain Mukhtar Akbar; 2 Sri Lankans; 1 Nepali) was attacked by an Israeli drone while docked at Ras Al-Esa port (under Houthi control) on 17 September 2025,” Naqvi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “One LPG tank exploded and the crew managed to extinguish the fire. The vessel was subsequently stopped by Houthi boats and the crew were held hostage aboard the ship.”

The minister expressed his gratitude to Pakistani officials in �������� and Oman who worked to resolve the situation, securing “the safe release of our citizens when hope was fading.”

He said “the tanker and its crew have now been released by the Houthis and are out of Yemeni waters.”

Earlier, the foreign office confirmed the incident, saying the relevant Pakistan embassies had established contacts with the authorities in Yemen to ensure the well-being of the crew.

“Efforts were made to set the tanker underway again,” foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in a statement.

He said the diplomatic missions had maintained contact with the family members of the Pakistani crew and kept them updated about the latest situation.

“Today, the LPG tanker has departed port and is making way out of the Yemeni waters,” he added. “The entire crew including Pakistani nationals on board is safe and sound.”

Yemen is not a major exporter of liquefied petroleum gas, ranking 243rd globally in 2023, according to trade data.

However, LPG remains vital for domestic cooking and heating in the country, and imports through Red Sea ports such as Hodeidah and Ras Issa have continued amid conflict-driven supply disruptions.

KARACHI: Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday released a list of more than a hundred “most wanted” human smugglers in the country, amid an ongoing crackdown to curb the practice.

Out of a total 137 wanted criminal, the FIA said Punjab’s Gujranwala topped with 70 suspects, followed by Islamabad with 25, Lahore with 14 and Faisalabad with 13 suspect.

The FIA, which handles human trafficking, cybercrime, immigration violations, financial fraud, militancy and corruption, said its Red Book 2025 contains complete details of these most wanted human traffickers and migrant smugglers.

“This publication is a key step in strengthening efforts against human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks, and serves as an important resource for law enforcement, stakeholders, and the public,” the agency said.

The development comes amid a crackdown on agents involved in sending impoverished Pakistanis abroad through dangerous routes, luring them with a chance at a better life in Europe.

Last month, the FIA arrested five suspects involved in smuggling citizens to Iran and Turkiye, according to an FIA spokesman. Prior to that, it arrested five suspects in Gujranwala and Gujrat districts who were said to be involved in human smuggling and defrauding citizens.

A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024. Most of them died while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands, according to Walking Borders.

In January, a boat, which set sail from Mauritania with 86 migrants on board, capsized near Morocco while attempting to travel illegally to Europe. Moroccan authorities said on Jan. 16 that 36 people were rescued from the vessel, while Pakistan confirmed survivors of the tragedy included 22 of its nationals.

In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.