Shehbaz orders steps for evacuation of Pakistanis stuck in Syria

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday told the authorities to prepare a strategy as soon as possible to evacuate the Pakistanis stuck in Syria through the neighbouring countries of the strife-ridden country. 

Presiding over a meeting on evacuation of Pakistani nationals from Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, Sharif said that steps should be taken for safe evacuation of the Pakistani nationals from Iran. He said that safety of the Pakistanis stuck in Syria was the first priority of the Pakistani government and all resources should be used for this purpose. 

On this occasion, the prime minister directed the Pakistani embassy in Damascus to set up an information desk and helpline for the families of the Pakistani citizens stuck in Syria. He said that Foreign Office’s Crisis Management Unit and information desks at the Pakistani embassies in Syria and the neighbouring countries should remain open round the clock until improvement in the law and order situation in the war-torn country. 

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and senior bureaucrats attended the meeting.