Govt takes comprehensive steps for stranded Pakistanis: Dar
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that air routes to Iran and some Gulf countries remained closed, therefore Pakistani were reaching Medina by road between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
Addressing a joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Amina Baloch and Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, Deputy Prime Minister said Crisis Management Cell in the Foreign Ministry is inactive to support Pakistanis stranded in Iran and Gulf countries.
Deputy Prime Minister said Crisis Management Cell was created during the Indo-Pak war and is still active today.
Ishaq Dar said that Crisis Management Cell in Tehran, Mashhad and Zahedan are active. The embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is also active. He said Pakistani consulate in Jeddah is also active and the details are available on the website.
Dar said Pakistan embassies are also active in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. He said the aim of the Special Facilitation Center is to help stranded Pakistanis. Dar said that government was in talks with the Azerbaijani government regarding the Azerbaijan border.
Dar said Azerbaijani government will issue visas to Pakistanis leaving Iran. DPM said the total number of Pakistanis in Iran is 35,000. So far, 792 Pakistanis have returned from Iran. Over 300 Iranian citizens holding Pakistani visas have returned. So far, around 1400 people have returned to Pakistan from different parts of Iran, Dar concluded. He said that there are 102,000 Pakistanis in Kuwait and Pakistani missions are operational in Kuwait. He said there are 382,000 Pakistanis in Oman, 134,000 Pakistanis in Bahrain.
Deputy Foreign Minister said land transit visa with Bahrain has been done through Saudi Arabia. There are no stranded cases in Bahrain, Oman and Jordan. Ishaq Dar said he had told his Iranian counterpart that Saudi Arabia should be viewed from a religious perspective.
Dar said Oman played an important role in the Iran-US talks but Oman was also attacked by a drone. Foreign Minister said he was in Saudi Arabia when Iran was attacked and he returned home through Omani airs. Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister said Azerbaijani government is currently providing full support and so far 64 Pakistanis have reached Azerbaijan.
“We were the first to condemn the US attack on Iran”, Ishaq Dar said. “I think we are the only Muslim countries that condemned the US attack on Iran.
He said when Iran was attacked, I had a telephone conversation with my Iranian counterpart. Dar said he told the Iranian foreign minister that we have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. Iran was informed that Saudi airspace or land would not be used against Iran.
Iran is saying that we did not attack these countries but American bases, Dar said. Thank God, there is nothing like that with Pakistan because Pakistan is not a party to this matter. He said due to the war in the region, the economic situation will deteriorate for the entire region. Pakistan had offered to host the Iran-US talks. and Iran and US had agreed to hold talks in Oman and Islamabad last year. Dar said. “We only want talks, wherever we can, just talk.” Dar SAID The recent talks were also held at the Omani embassy in Geneva.
He said that The group of 8 Muslim countries was working very actively. “We are working for two states for Palestine, pre-1967, with Jerusalem as its capital”.
DPM said these 8 Muslim countries are playing a role in ending the blockade of Gaza, access to medicine and food, including stopping the aggression against the Palestinians.
“Whenever there is a violation by Israel, we all Muslim countries issue a statement together”, Ishaq Dar said.
“We immediately gave a joint position on Israel's illegal annexation of the West Bank. We are not a direct party to this whole conflict.” However, this situation will have an impact on Pakistan, including other countries of the world. We are ready to play our role of mediator in any regard. We want this matter to be resolved.