Over 300 Pakistanis evacuated from Syria arrive in Islamabad

Over 300 Pakistanis arrived in Islamabad from Beirut on a special chartered flight following the outbreak of unrest in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Pakistan’s evacuation operation to bring its citizens back, stranded in Syria since opposition forces toppled the US-backed government, is underway. Another flight is expected to reach Islamabad tonight.

Over 1,300 Pakistanis have been trapped in Syria since last week when opposition forces captured the capital, Damascus. Of these, 318 have been evacuated.

Pakistan’s ambassador had seen the citizens off at Beirut airport.

Upon their arrival in Pakistan, Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiative Professor Ahsan Iqbal, representatives of PMO, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) received the citizens at Islamabad airport.

However, the Minister stated that authorities, on the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had talked to the Lebanese government, which provided the [Pakistanis in Syria] with visas, and then they were evacuated.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) provided them with buses to reach their destinations.

The Premier was personally engaged in efforts to facilitate the return of Pakistani citizens from Syria and authorized the use of all resources for their safe repatriation.

Following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a result of an offensive by rebels spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the government of Pakistan took immediate action to evacuate Pakistanis from Syria.