ISLAMABAD, Apr 24 (dna): The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has evacuated 150
people, including Saudi and Pakistani nationals, trapped in restive
Sudan, Saudi embassy in Pakistan has announced.
According to a statement of the embassy, the operation was carried out
by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces with the support of various branches of
the armed forces on the directives of the Kingdom’s Leadership.
“We are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the citizens of the
Kingdom who were evacuated from the Republic of Sudan as well as several
nationals of brotherly and friendly countries, including diplomats and
international officials,” it said.
As per reports, in the first announced evacuation since the start of the
civil war, Saudi Arabia has managed to evacuate 150 foreign diplomats,
staff and citizens of other countries, including Saudi Arabia and
Pakistan, from Sudan.
A total of 66 people from brotherly and friendly countries including
Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan,
India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso
have been evacuated.
According to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Saudi Navy,
with the help of other military agencies, conducted a rescue mission
with three ships to evacuate the citizens.
It was reported that 91 Saudi nationals and 66 citizens of 12 countries,
including Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, India
and Canada, had been brought safely to Jeddah.
Women and children were among those who had been evacuated. They were
offered flowers, sweets and other such items by the Saudi authorities
upon arrival in Jeddah.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that the
government had constantly been monitoring efforts for the safety of
Pakistani citizens in Sudan while keeping a close eye on developments in
the restive African country.
Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan also 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 Sudan.
The representatives from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Ministry
of Overseas Pakistanis and other agencies concerned also joined the
meeting.
The participants had an in-depth discussion on finalising plans for
safely and quickly evacuating Pakistani citizens from Sudan.
