DUBAI // The pirates who hijacked the Dubai ship MV Albedo have extended the deadline for the crew’s US$2.85 million (Dh10.4m) ransom by another three days.
Relatives of the 22 crew members, who have been held for 17 months, had hoped to defer the payment until next month. But the Somali raiders have demanded the ransom by tomorrow.
“They extended the first April 20 deadline to April 23 and now have asked for the money to be dropped off on April 26,” said Ahmed Chinoy, the chairman of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee in Pakistan, which is mediating on behalf of the hostages’ relatives.
“Frankly, we don’t have that money with us yet. We are still in the process of collecting funds.”
There is a shortfall of 150 million Pakistani rupees (Dh6m) in the amount the pirates have demanded for “expenses” including medicine and food.
The money has been raised by the citizen’s group, charity organisations, relatives, the Malaysian ship owner and contributions from the public on the website savemvalbedo.com.
Dozens of the hostages’ relatives are campaigning for funds this week in Karachi.
“It’s a lot of money and we are very scared,” said Shahnaz Jawaid, wife of the ship’s captain Jawaid Khan.
Their daughter Nareman works in Dubai where has been trying to raise funds to have the men freed.
“Every minute of every day we are trying to raise the funds,” Mrs Jawaid said. “Our only hope is that this nightmare should end and our men should be back safely.”
Mr Chinoy said he had spoken to Mr Khan and the first officer who told him the sailors were safe, but supplies were dwindling.
“They said everything, supplies and provisions, are running out. I tried to console them that we are doing our utmost. They asked me to make the payment in time and not ask for any further extensions.”
The cargo ship was hijacked in November 2010 after it left Jebel Ali for Kenya. An Indian sailor later died because of a lack of medicine.
The crew consists of Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Indians and one Iranian.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
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Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
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It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
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The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
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“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
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Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
