India requests Pakistan for access to Indian sailor stranded at Karachi port

Amid reports that an officer of the Indian Merchant Navy and five other crew members of a ship have been stranded at Karachi port for several months, the Indian government has requested consular access from the Pakistani side regarding this matter. According to an NDTV report, the Government of India is making continuous efforts to resolve this issue.

This information was provided by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during his bi-weekly media briefing on Friday. When asked about the Indian Merchant Navy officer and his five fellow members stranded at Karachi port, he stated that India is in contact with the Pakistani side on this matter.

According to Jaiswal, the Government of India is in constant touch with the people stranded in this situation, their employer (the shipping company), and their agent. He clarified that the government is trying to resolve this issue and a consular request has been made to the Pakistani side for this purpose.

Providing further details on the subject, the spokesperson stated that the issue of these merchant personnel on the ship in Karachi is actually between the ship's owner and the employees working on the ship. He explained that the employees cannot leave the ship directly because it is essential for replacement crew, i.e., substitute staff, to arrive on the ship before they leave. If new staff does not arrive, the old staff cannot leave the ship.

According to reports on the incident, the Indian sailor and his colleagues have been stranded at Karachi port for several months. During this time, family members of the stranded sailor have been requesting authorities for several months to bring them back home safely. The efforts being made by the government in this regard have now reached the level of a consular request.

Viewing the matter from a commercial perspective, Randhir Jaiswal stated that basically, this is a commercial issue between the shipping company and the employees. The Government of India is talking to all parties to bring a resolution by maintaining a balance between this commercial dispute and the safety of the employees.

Merchant Navy is a group of professionals working on ships used for maritime trade. They are responsible for the transport of goods at ports worldwide and have to work while staying on the ship for long periods. In this profession, it is very important to follow the agreements and rules between shipping companies and crew members.