ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Monday that 427 Pakistanis have reached Port Sudan safely and are being lodged before arrangements for their onward journey are coordinated.
In a statement, spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said the FO continued to monitor the situation in Sudan and was working with Pakistan’s missions in the region to provide relief to citizens stranded over there.
On Friday, Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan held a follow-up virtual meeting with Pakistan’s missions in Sudan and neighbouring countries to discuss modalities for the safe evacuation of Pakistanis from the battle-stricken country.
Representatives from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Ministry of Overseas and other relevant agencies also attended the hudle.
This is the second batch of Pakistanis being evacuated from the country as Saudi Arabia announced the evacuation of 91 people, including Pakistanis, from Sudan on Sunday.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in a telephonic conversation with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan, thanked Saudi Arabia for its assistance in evacuating Pakistani nationals from the war-ravaged country.
During the call, both sides agreed on closely coordinating to further facilitate evacuations from Sudan.
The abrupt eruption of fighting on April 15 between the Sudanese army and paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered a humanitarian crisis, killed more than 400 people and left behind charred tanks, gutted buildings and shops that have been looted and torched.
Nations rush to evacuate their citizens
Foreign nations rushed to evacuate their citizens from war-stricken Sudan over the weekend as fierce fighting continues to rage in the capital Khartoum, trapping millions of residents inside their homes without water and food and causing an internet blackout.
Several ceasefires seemingly agreed by both sides were breached, including a three-day armistice to mark the Muslim holiday of Eidul Fitr, which started on Friday.
