Once again friendship of two iron-clad brothers has proved eternal, negating all false, fake, fictional and fabricated propaganda of the Western imperialistic powers. Undoubtedly, in the time of crises, China always stood first to help Pakistan and its people alike.
Most recently, China has once again set another splendid example of unmatched human generosity, true compassion and humanitarian assistance by timely evacuating stranded citizens of Pakistan from Sudan which is currently passing through severe political rifts and communal conflicts.
Now Pakistan’s government has expressed gratitude to China for helping the country in the evacuation of its citizens stranded in Sudan, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On its part, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Twitter on Friday night that a batch of 216 Pakistani nationals had arrived in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia from Port Sudan aboard the Chinese navy vessel Weishanhu.
“We are grateful to our Chinese friends for this gesture of support and friendship,” added the ministry. Moreover, on Saturday morning, the ministry issued another statement saying that another batch of 97 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan has arrived at Jinnah International Airport from Jeddah.
According to the ministry, the people came back home from Jeddah aboard an aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force. The ministry assured to continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis.
Earlier on Friday, the spokesperson of the ministry Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the Pakistani side was engaging with “friendly countries in the region for facilitating this process by providing transport to shift Pakistanis from Sudan.”
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In this regard, the first two batches of total 260 Pakistanis evacuated from Sudan where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed and wounded hundreds arrived in Karachi on Friday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
The first batch, comprising 149 individuals, arrived in the port city today morning, with the FO saying that the safe evacuation of every Pakistani and bringing them home was a “top priority”.
Hours later, the Foreign Office said a second batch of 111 stranded Pakistan had also reached Karachi. “With the latest flight, 260 Pakistanis have returned home safely,” it added.
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 had ordered the PAF transport fleet to carry out the swift evacuation of Pakistanis from conflict-hit Sudan.
After safely arriving in Pakistan, the evacuated families expressed their gratitude to the government and appreciated the Pakistan Air Force for their timely rescue amidst the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan in which brotherly country China has played an important and decisive role which ultimately ensured the safety of stranded Pakistani trapped in the ongoing conflict between two conflicting groups in Sudan. It is indeed an act of essential support and true friendship and the government of Pakistan and its people are really thankful to Chinese government and its people.
Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
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At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely much higher.
Detailing the government’s evacuation plan, Baloch said that 800 Pakistanis were transported from Khartoum to Port Sudan which is relatively safe than other parts of the country — in the first phase.
The second phase of the evacuation operation consisted of transporting Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, or directly to Pakistan.
“We remain engaged with friendly countries in the region and are especially grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for facilitating this process by providing transport by ferry from Port Sudan to Jeddah and also hosting Pakistani nationals until their repatriation to Pakistan,” Baloch said.
Pakistan has expressed gratitude to China for helping the country in the evacuation of its citizens stranded in Sudan, said the Foreign Office.
This article is written by Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan
Executive Director: The Center for South Asia & International Studies (CSAIS)
Regional Expert: China, CPEC & BRI
