Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers who fled Libya wait to be evacuated on March 3, 2011 at the airport in Djerba. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua on Wednesday said the foreign ministry was keeping a close watch on the events unfolding in North Africa in general and in Libya in particular.

Speaking to DawnNews, Janjua said Pakistan respected the resolutions passed by the United Nations, however, the decision to impose a no-fly zone over Libya did not apply on passenger planes.

She further said that Pakistani expatriates were still returning from Libya.

Janjua said Pakistan’s Ambassador to Libya was under instructions to assist Pakistani nationals in the North African country.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has already brought 5,322 Pakistanis back to the country on six special flights.

Some 15,000 to 20,000 Pakistanis remain stranded in Libya, whereas a Monitoring Committee set up in Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) was monitoring the situation there and coordinating for an early repatriation of stranded persons.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan issued a veiled disapproval of air strikes by a US-led coalition on Libya and said it was concerned over the developments.