Karachi (Web Desk): The first batch of 149 Pakistanis evacuated from Sudan has arrived safely in Karachi.
According to the Foreign Office (FO), safe evacuation of every Pakistani and bringing them home is top priority of the government.
In a tweet, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari welcomed the first batch and vowed to continue work “until every Pakistani in Sudan is evacuated and brought home safe at the earliest”.
According to a statement, the stranded Pakistanis were evacuated from Sudan through Jeddah via a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Airbus and C-130 Hercules aircraft.
On the directives of the prime minister, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu has ordered the PAF transport fleet to carry out the swift evacuation of stranded Pakistanis from conflict-hit Sudan.
Another PAF plane, carrying Pakistanis from Sudan, is also expected to arrive in the country today (Friday).
The PAF has been making efforts to repatriate stranded Pakistanis in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan embassies in Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
On April 15, fighting broke out in Sudan between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
As per the UN agencies, at least 459 people had been killed and more than 4,000 injured as of Tuesday across Africa's third-biggest country.
The fighting also destroyed hospitals and limited food distribution in a nation heavily reliant on aid.
A three-day US-brokered ceasefire brought some calm to the capital Khartoum, but witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.