First batch of 149 Pakistanis evacuated from Sudan arrives in Karachi

F.P. Report

KARACHI: A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesperson has announced that the first batch of 149 Pakistani nationals, who were stranded in conflict-hit Sudan, have arrived safely in Karachi.

The spokesperson also stated that a C-130 carrying an additional 110 Pakistani passengers will land later today. The PAF’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, ordered a fleet to evacuate the stranded Pakistanis on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The PAF has been 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,” said the statement. The air force has assured that it will continue to repatriate Pakistanis to their homeland, as over 700 Pakistanis have been evacuated from the war-torn region so far.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari welcomed the return of the first batch of evacuated Pakistanis and assured that the government will continue working to evacuate every Pakistani in Sudan and bring them home safe at the earliest. The Foreign Office has been working to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in Sudan since the conflict began earlier this month. The Pakistanis in Sudan are first evacuated to Port Sudan and then transferred to Jeddah, from where the PAF is bringing them back home.

The evacuated families expressed their gratitude to the government and appreciated the PAF for their timely rescue amidst the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan. The repatriation efforts by the PAF and the government have been praised by many, as the safety and well-being of Pakistani nationals abroad is a top priority for the government.