RAWALPINDI: Another special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight carrying 135 Pakistani citizens, two Canadians and a Sudanese national evacuated from war-torn Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, arrived at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Sunday night.

Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch, who was on hand to receive the evacuees, spoke to journalists at the airport.

He said none of the Pakistani citizens settled in Yemen was reported killed or injured during the fighting. About 300 Pakistani nationals will be evacuated through a naval ship that would be reaching Al Hodeida on Monday.

Minister defends envoy’s decision to fly back early; two Canadians and a Sudanese national among the evacuated persons

In reply to a question regarding the impact of the crisis in Yemen on Pakistani borders, the minister said: “There is nothing to worry about.”

Irfan Shami, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Yemen, who had returned to Islamabad on the first PIA flight out of Yemen, was also present but preferred to steer clear of the media.

Defending the ambassador’s early return to Islamabad, the minister said that he did not flee. “He came back to Islamabad to brief the government about the situation in Yemen,” the minister said.

Sumera Anwar, a nurse at the Saudi General Hospital in Sana’a, who arrived by the special flight, said she was terrified by the bombing and gunfire that had raged on there. She described explosions and flashes of gunfire, which she said could be seen at night.

“The security situation in Sana’a is very bad. Last night was a horrific night for me and everybody else there,” she said, adding that she had seen many people dying in terrible circumstances.

She said since the government of Pakistan announced it would defend Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, the behaviour of her colleagues and hospital staff towards Pakistanis changed totally.

“They were not friendly to us,” she said, adding that only one or two of her colleagues chose to stay on.

Imtiaz Ahmed, the PIA captain who airlifted the stranded Pakistani from Sana’a, had to wait for more than two hours to obtain security clearance to fly into Yemen. He told reporters that the reason behind the delay was due to the security situation in Sana’a.

Javaid Ahmed, an insurance company consultant who also arrived by the special flight, said that although the Pakistan embassy in Sana’a was closed, embassy staff were coordinating with them from Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2015

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