By Staff Reporters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has successfully evacuated its nationals from conflict-hit Sudan, with the first batch of 149 Pakistanis arriving in Karachi on Friday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
“The safe return of all Pakistanis stranded in Sudan is a top priority for the government.”
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari welcomed the first batch on Twitter and vowed to continue the efforts until all Pakistanis in Sudan were safely repatriated.
The stranded Pakistanis were evacuated through Jeddah via a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Airbus and C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu ordered the PAF transport fleet to carry out the swift evacuation of Pakistanis from conflict-hit Sudan.
Upon arriving in Pakistan, the evacuated families expressed their gratitude to the government and appreciated the Pakistan Air Force for their timely rescue amidst the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan.
A PAF spokesperson said Pakistan Air Force would continue to bring their fellow citizens in distress back to their homeland.
“Air Force is making all-out efforts to repatriate stranded Pakistanis in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan Embassies in Sudan and Saudi Arabia,” it added.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said two more flights carrying around 200 Pakistanis were expected to arrive later in the day.
Baloch said the evacuation was made possible because of the “robust inter-agency process led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
She added that the government’s evacuation plan consisted of transporting 800 Pakistanis from Khartoum to Port Sudan, which is relatively safer than other parts of the country, in the first phase.
The second phase of the evacuation operation involved transporting Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, or directly to Pakistan. “Today’s flights, operating from Port Sudan via Jeddah, mark the first part of this second phase,” the FO spokesperson said, adding that additional flights were also planned.
Baloch stated that evacuation from Port Sudan to Jeddah continued via ferries operated by the Saudi government.
Some passengers would also be transferred onboard a Chinese ship from Port Sudan to Jeddah.
She expressed gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for facilitating the process by providing transport by ferry from Port Sudan to Jeddah and hosting Pakistani nationals until their repatriation to Pakistan.
The Consulate General Jeddah would continue to coordinate with Saudi authorities and extend assistance to Pakistanis during transit through Jeddah, she added.
“We remain engaged with friendly countries in the region and are especially grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for facilitating this process by providing transport by ferry from Port Sudan to Jeddah and also hosting Pakistani nationals until their repatriation to Pakistan,” Baloch said.
Tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese, foreign nationals, and neighboring citizens, have fled in the past few days after violence between the military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group has claimed at least 427 lives in the past two weeks.
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