Pakistanis stranded in Syria return home

LAHORE: A group of 81 Pakistanis, out of 300 who were stranded in Syria, have safely returned to Lahore, ARY News reported.

As per details, the group, which was part of around 300 Pakistani pilgrims in Syria, travelled from the Syrian border to Beirut Airport and then flew to Dubai before finally arriving in Islamabad.

According to one of the returnees, Salman, the group was residing in the suburbs of Damascus. He lauded the PM Shehbaz’s contacts with the Lebanese government for their safe return.

Salman also thanked the Pakistani authorities for the cooperation at the embassy in Beirut, however, all the Pakistanis returned bore the expenses of their travel from Syria to Lebanon themselves, he said.

Earlier, around 350 Pakistani nationals including 245 pilgrims, who were stranded in Syria, crossed the Lebanon border.

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Hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims are still trapped in Syria following the crisis triggered by the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The Foreign Office said in a statement that under the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Embassy of Pakistan in Damascus facilitated the repatriation process.

Deputy Head of Mission in Syria Umar Hayat accompanied the Pakistani nationals to the border, as Deputy Head of Mission in Beirut, Nawab Adil, received fellow citizens in Lebanon.

PM Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reached out to his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati, seeking urgent help in the immediate evacuation of Pakistani nationals stranded in Syria.

PM Shehbaz personally contacted PM Mikati, requesting his support in facilitating the safe return of Pakistani nationals stranded in Syria through Beirut.