New Delhi: As many as 23 Pakistani nationals rescued by the Indian Navy from Somali pirates after a daring operation in the Arabian Sea on March 29 thanked India and raised slogans of 'India Zindabad'.

The Indian Navy's specialist team had protected them from nine armed pirates, and completed sanitization and seaworthiness checks of fishing vessel Al-Kambar.

The Pakistani crew of the rescued Iranian flagged fishing vessel could be seen raising India Zindabad slogans in the Arabian Sea after they were freed from the pirates.

Based on the inputs on a potential piracy incident onboard Iranian Fishing Vessel late evening on March 28, two Indian Naval ships, mission deployed in the Arabian Sea for maritime security operations were diverted to intercept the hijacked fishing vessel.

The FV at the time of incident was approximately 90 Nm south-west of Socotra and was reported to have been boarded by nine armed pirates. The hijacked FV was intercepted on March 29.

The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and safety of seafarers, irrespective of nationalities, according to the statement.

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