Pakistani nationals arrested after Mozambique boat saga

A Mozambican newspaper is reporting that 12 Pakistani citizens whose boat was rescued from the high seas and towed to the port city of Beira are now being detained on illegal immigration charges.

Stella Pinto Novo Zeca, a top official for that province, has confirmed the arrests but declined to comment on the details as outlined in the Noticias newspaper.

The Pakistani detainees were first suspected of having links to Islamist militants who have been carrying out attacks in the oil-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado.

The detainees themselves say they left Pakistan in February to rescue a boat that had been adrift for three weeks, but their mission failed when their engine broke down and bad weather pushed them towards the African coast until they were rescued by a Mozambican fishing vessel in April.

The captain, Mahmad Anif, says that his crew are all fishermen.

Sofala province’s police commander told reporters in May that he wanted to know if they really were fishermen, or whether they were involved with Cabo Delgado insurgents or trafficking.