ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Thursday that 23 Pakistani nationals were evacuated from the quake-hit Turkiye, while no casualties were reported so far.
“So far, we have no news of casualty of any Pakistani in Turkiye or Syria,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said at a weekly press briefing.
Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the Pakistanis were evacuated from Gaziantep University and accommodated in Adana city. “Sixteen of these evacuated persons will be brought back to Pakistan, while the rest will be shifted to Istanbul city of Turkiye,” she said.
The devastated city of Gaziantep, located about 33km from the epicentre, suffered heavy loss of life and infrastructure during the earthquake.
She further said the country’s missions in Turkiye and Syria remained in constant touch with the relevant authorities to provide relief to Pakistanis affected by the earthquake.
In response to a question regarding the Multilateral Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in Russia’s capital Moscow, she said, “We have decided not to participate in the Moscow meeting of regional stakeholders.”
“We will continue to participate in all constructive meetings on Afghanistan,” she said.
The spokesperson said Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit Pakistan from February 15-16.
Freezing temperatures deepened the misery Thursday for survivors of a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria that killed more than 16,000 people, as rescuers raced to save countless people still trapped under rubble.
The death toll from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake is expected to rise sharply as rescue efforts pass the 72-hour mark that disaster experts consider the most likely period to save lives.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday conceded “shortcomings” after criticism of his government’s response to the earthquake, one of the deadliest this century.
