Emotional scenes of homecoming and being united with loved ones after a painful separation of 10 months were seen in Karachi when four Pakistani and seven other South Asian sailors landed at Karachi harbour. The 22-member crew of the Egyptian merchant vessel MV Suez carrying cement bags was held hostage by Somali pirates in August last year, who demanded $ 2.1 million ransom for the release of the hostages and the vessel. The other crew members were 11 Egyptians, six Indians and one Sri Lankan. It was with the untiring efforts of Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney that the release could be secured, although the pirates had to be paid the hefty ransom. In a commendable gesture that secured the goodwill of people across India at a time when India-Pakistan foreign secretary level peace talks are going on in Islamabad, Mr Burney raised the ransom amount on behalf of all the crew members, regardless of their nationality. Somalia has gained notoriety for piracy off its large coast jutting out into the sea off the strategic region of the Horn of Africa, where a large number of the world’s ships pass while entering or leaving the Red Sea through the Mandab Strait. The breakdown of law and order in Somalia since the civil war started in 1991 has gradually grown into an international problem, as piracy, started as an act of defence against illegal fishing and contamination of Somali waters by toxics dumped by foreign ships, became a thriving syndicate. The pirates expanded their operations from the Gulf of Aden to as far as the Arabian Sea and well into the Indian Ocean. Hundreds of ships have since been targeted on the high seas and huge ransom amounts have been extracted from their owners, states, or relatives of crew members. Even now scores of ships and their crews are in the clutches of Somali pirates. Perhaps more than anyone, it is Somalia’s neighbours who are suffering at the hands of this criminal mafia. Given the threat it presents to international trade, it is imperative to make coordinated efforts to control piracy in the region, which has increased the costs of shipping and threatened urgent aid efforts. This is not unachievable, as already the incidence of piracy has been reduced by half as compared to last year due to international policing efforts and steps taken by the Somali government. *