Daily Times

In continuation with the ongoing execution of the evacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan, where violence between the military and the well-armed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has triggered a humanitarian crisis, 37 Pakistanis reached Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday. The Foreign Office spokesperson said that a ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan has arrived in Jeddah. “They were received by Consul General in Jeddah, Khalid Majid on arrival at Jeddah Port,” the spokesperson said in a tweet expressing gratitude towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its support and hospitality. A day earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that more than 200 Pakistanis were evacuated to safety in chaos-torn Sudan, bringing the total number of rescued nationals to 700. “In keeping with the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to the welfare of overseas Pakistanis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to lead in the relief and rescue of Pakistanis in Sudan. Today, another convoy carrying 211 Pakistanis dispatched from Khartoum has arrived in Port Sudan,” the minister said in a statement. Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary RSF.