97 more Pakistanis reach Karachi from Sudan

Government of Pakistan will continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis, says MoFA

KARACHI:

A third batch of 97 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrived in Karachi on Saturday from Jeddah via a C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), as the fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (TSF) entered its third week with hundreds killed. 

“The government of Pakistan will continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis,” Foreign Office spokesperson on Saturday posted on her Twitter handle.

Third batch of 97 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan has arrived at JIA, Karachi via Jeddah aboard PAF aircraft C-130. Government of Pakistan will continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis. pic.twitter.com/leTuhqq30Q

— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) April 29, 2023

A day earlier, 259 Pakistanis who were evacuated from Sudan reached Karachi.

The PAF operated special flights, for the repatriation of 259 Pakistanis from Sudan, according to a news release. It said 149 passengers were brought back by a PAF Airbus, while 110 were repatriated via a C-130 plane.

Read 37 Pakistanis reach Jeddah from Sudan

Meanwhile, the sounds of air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday and dark smoke rose over parts of the city, as fighting in Sudan entered a third week.

Fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force continued despite the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire extension on Friday, when strikes by air, tanks and artillery rocked Khartoum and the adjacent cities of Bahri and Ombdurman.

At least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded, according to the United Nations, which believes the real toll is much higher.

More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan just in the first week of the fighting, according to the United Nations. Only 16% of hospitals were operating as normal in the capital.

(WITH INPUT FROM REUTERS)