PIA to bring back 160 Pakistanis stranded in Syria

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has finalized all arrangements to send a special flight to Syria’s Aleppo today (Monday) to bring back Pakistani stranded in Damascus after Israel’s recent bombardment at the airport.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan in a statement said that Pakistanis will be first transported to Aleppo from Damascus by bus, from where a PIA plane will bring them back home.

“PIA has made arrangements to send a flight on special instructions of the Minister for Aviation,” he said.

He said Pakistan’s ambassador to Syria had requested the government and the national flag carrier for sending the flight to evacuate the stranded Pakistanis.

Meanwhile, the Aviation Division said all stranded Pakistani Zaireen would start arriving home within 24 hours due to PIA’s special sorties.

It is pertinent to mention that more than 300 Pakistanis are stranded in Syria. 160 zaireen will be brought back home by the PIA plane, whereas, the rest of 140 will be travelling to Iraq on their own.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari directed the authorities to ensure immediate repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in Syria after Israeli forces resorted to bombardment at Damascus airport.

The PIA had suspended its flight operations to and from Damascus following the Israeli forces’ attack at the Damascus International Airport that caused damage to both runways of the air facility a couple of days ago.