Stranded Pakistanis to return from Syria tonight

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday was apprised that the stranded Pakistani nationals who had reached Syria from Beirut would be flown back to Pakistan on a chartered flight on night between December 12 and 13.

The prime minister chaired an important meeting regarding the evacuation of Pakistani nationals from Syria. During the meeting, Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, was tasked with ensuring a warm welcome for the returning Pakistanis at the airport.

The prime minister was briefed on the evacuation of Pakistani nationals from Syria during a meeting, a Prime Minister Office news release said.

The Foreign Office previously said Pakistanis stranded in Syria were safe after rebels seized control of Damascus in a lightning advance that sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.

“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in Syria,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.

The statement added that the Embassy of Pakistan in Syria was open for support and advice.