Homecoming: FO outlines Yemen evacuation plan

Pakistan is ready to send passenger jets as well as naval ships to Yemen for Pakistani expats

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ready to send passenger jets as well as naval ships to Yemen for the safe evacuation of all stranded Pakistanis in the war-torn country, the Foreign Office announced on Saturday.

The announcement came hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered a comprehensive evacuation plan for his compatriots. Two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft were readied in the meantime to fly out Pakistani expats from Yemen.

Apart from the PIA planes, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that the government would also send Pakistan Navy ships to the Red Sea to bring home its people from Yemen. Chaudhry was addressing a news conference in Islamabad.

He pointed out that the Saudi authorities have been asked to exempt Pakistan from the “no-fly zone” enforced in the strategic Arab country.

In the first phase, about 200 Pakistanis are likely to be evacuated from Hadid. The situation in Aden, which has witnessed fierce clashes in recent days, will be studied before evacuation is considered. “It is the government’s priority to evacuate Pakistanis safely,” Chaudhry said.

The government has devised an evacuation plan on the directives of Premier Sharif, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister House earlier in the day. The prime minister is himself monitoring the situation and has asked to be kept updated on an hourly basis. Two airplanes are ready for departure as soon as clearance is received from aviation authorities and the Embassy of Pakistan in Sanaa.

As most airports in the war-torn country are no more functional, many families will have to be safely transported, in the form of convoys, to Yemen’s neighbouring countries and then will be airlifted to Pakistan.Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has also contacted his Saudi counterpart, who assured him that evacuation of Pakistanis will be taken care just like they are Saudi citizens and all routes will be used.

PIA spokesperson Hanif Rana said the planes were ready to fly to Yemen and were waiting for permission to take off. A 504-seater Boeing 747 is on standby at the Karachi airport. “We even have the permission from Saudi Arabia and Iraq for using their fly zones,” he claimed. “The Sanaa airport is completely closed but we are exploring another airport in Hadid.”

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said a crisis management cell had been set up to assist the families of the Pakistani citizens stranded in Yemen for providing them necessary information.  The evacuation operation will be completed within three days.

Talking to different TV channels, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said the government would take all possible steps to bring back citizens stranded in Yemen. Pakistan’s foreign ministry officials say around 2,145 Pakistanis are currently living in Yemen.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2015.