ISLAMABAD - As efforts to evacuate stranded Pakistanis from Yemen continue, focus of the action plan was shifted Monday on evacuating the remaining Pakistanis stranded mainly in Aden and Mokallah.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said the renewed fighting around Aden had halted the envisaged movement of Pakistanis stranded in Aden to Mokallah which is at about nine hours’ driving distance.
She said a PIA aircraft was ready for flying to Mokallah to airlift the stranded Pakistanis in Aden and Mokallah.
She said in view of the situation there, the evacuation by sea would now be decided, adding that two Pakistan Navy ships had been despatched to the area and were expected to reach there in a few days.
“These vessels will evacuate Pakistanis from Aden and Mokallah and all logistic arrangements for the evacuation are being worked out,” she said and added the possibility of evacuation from Aden through Chinese assistance was also being considered since Chinese vessels were currently undertaking evacuation operations for their citizens in Aden.
The spokesperson said all possible avenues were being explored to accelerate evacuation of stranded Pakistani nationals from Yemen.
She expressed her satisfaction over timely evacuation of more than 500 stranded Pakistanis in Yemen that was owing to the personal guidance of the prime minister and the excellent coordination of all departments concerned, including PIA.
Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) made elaborate arrangements for the evacuation of the Pakistanis stranded in Yemen. CAA spokesperson Sher Ali said the evacuation operation would continue till airlifting of the last Pakistani in Yemen.
He said two PIA aircraft had been reserved for the evacuation of Pakistanis and on receiving green signal will depart for Yemen, adding the Yemeni authorities had allocated a limited area to Pakistan for flying operation.
Earlier in the day, as many as 339 Pakistanis airlifted to Karachi last night were brought to Benazir International Airport Islamabad by PIA’s special flight PK-7002. They were received at the airport by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervez Rashid and PM adviser on Aviation Shujaat Azeem.
The minister paid glowing tributes to Pakistan’s Ambassador to Yemen Dr Irfan Shami for his dedicated efforts in evacuating stranded Pakistanis.