Pakistan says 3,000 evacuated from Iran as stranded students plead for help
A week of Israeli air and missile strikes, which began on June 13, has led to the killing of many of Iran's top-ranking military officials and ordinary people. In response, Tehran's retaliatory strikes have also killed about two dozen civilians in Israel.
Following Friday's escalation, Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights, stranding hundreds of expatriates, including Pakistani religious tourists, students and workers.
'The evacuation is moving smoothly and so far, nearly 3,000 Pakistani nationals have already been evacuated,' foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters in his weekly media briefing.
'Our consulates in Zahedan and Mashhad have been active round the clock, extending all possible facilitation and support to our nationals who are in Iran,' he said, expressing gratitude to the Iranian authorities for their sensitivity and all possible facilitation and help extended in this process.
Khan said the Pakistani mission was using multiple routes to evacuate citizens, including via the Gabr and Taftan border crossings, through Ashgabat, Baku and even Baghdad, through special flights.
'It's an ongoing process as there are logistical challenges at times, but we are working together with the Iranian authorities to resolve them if a problem arises,' he added.
The spokesperson said there is a sizeable Pakistani community in Iran, with many of them living in the neighboring state for years with their families after marrying local people.
STRANDED STUDENTS
Speaking to Arab News from various cities across Iran, Pakistani students expressed serious concerns about their safety and appealed for immediate evacuation.
'I have been stranded here since the suspension of flight operations due to the regional tensions,' Muhammad Hussain, a Pakistani medical student at Qom University of Medical Sciences, told Arab News over the phone.
'The situation is becoming more tense, we are now hearing continuous explosions, which has increased our concern for safety,' he said, adding that he tried to reach out to the Pakistan embassy as well who asked him to travel to the Chabahar border.
'I am unable to get any means to go there,' he said, urging the Pakistan government and the embassy to arrange special transport to take them to border.
'Our families are extremely worried, and we just want to go back,' he added.
Noman Khan, an MBBS student in Urmia, a city in Iran's Azerbaijan province, said he was part of a group of Pakistani students, including 10 girls, awaiting repatriation amid the ongoing situation.
'We contacted the embassy to evacuate us and, about two days ago, they asked us to book a bus ourselves, promising to send the payment,' he informed, adding that even after more than 60 hours, they were still waiting for the payment without which they were unable to get transport to cross border.
'We have female students with us as well who are also scared as nearby cities were also hit by missiles,' he continued.
'Our city is about two hours away from Tabriz and almost two to three drones were shot down in our city as well.'
Saman Yunus, another medical student at Iran University of Medical Sciences, said that due to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, they had been traveling for the past four days.
'The Pakistani Embassy advised us that it would be safer to go to the Chabahar border and assured us that any issues related to accommodation or other needs would be resolved within minutes,' she told Arab News.
However, she said the biggest problem they faced was that the border was not open 24/7 and there was no accommodation available.
'As a result, we had to spend the entire night on the roadside and we contacted both our university and the embassy, but no help was provided,' she continued, adding they were now heading to Pakistani consulate in Zahedan, hoping they would facilitate a safe border crossing.
'A representative there has assured us that they will handle it as soon as possible and ensure we safely cross border,' she added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan says nationwide crackdown against sugar hoarders, profiteers underway
KARACHI: Pakistan's Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain announced on Wednesday that a nationwide crackdown against those attempting to disrupt the sugar supply in the country through hoarding and profiteering was underway, amid Islamabad's attempts to stabilize the commodity's price. Market analysts have said retail sugar prices in several parts of the country have risen sharply since January, surging to Rs200 [$0.70] per kilogram. In Pakistan, high sugar prices have triggered public outcry and become flashpoints for opposition criticism in the past, with allegations of hoarding and cartelization frequently surfacing in election years or periods of economic volatility. Hussain chaired a meeting with representatives of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and other key stakeholders from all provinces on Wednesday, the national food security ministry said in a press release. It said the meeting aimed to review the current sugar market situation, pricing trends, and supply chain dynamics. 'During the meeting, the Federal Minister expressed serious concern over the artificial hike in sugar prices and warned of strict action against all those who are involved in hoarding and market manipulation,' the statement said. 'He announced that a nationwide crackdown is currently underway against those disrupting the sugar supply chain.' Hussain noted that due to the government's 'decisive actions,' sugar prices have started to decline significantly from Rs200 per kg to Rs. 175–180 [$0.61-0.63] per kg in various markets. The minister warned sugar mills that were not releasing their existing stocks that the government would not tolerate hoarding, directing all provincial governments to ensure the timely lifting of sugar from mills and facilitate its smooth transportation to markets. Hussain noted the 'exploitative role' of certain middlemen and market intermediaries, saying they were capitalizing on the market's volatility. 'The federal and provincial authorities are now actively pursuing legal and administrative actions against such elements to curb unjust profiteering,' the ministry said. The minister later chaired a high-level meeting of the Steering Committee on Sugar Imports, where all technical, procedural, and operational challenges related to sugar importation were reviewed and resolved, the food security ministry said. Earlier this month, Pakistan announced it would import sugar in two phases. In the first phase, a tender for 200,000 metric tons of sugar would be issued, followed by another tender for 150,000 metric tons after one week, the ministry said. The ministry also announced it had decided to waive all duties and taxes on sugar imports to ensure the product is available at affordable prices.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Says It Warned US Destroyer to Move Away from Waters Monitored by Tehran
Iran warned a US destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the country, leading the US ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported. The US Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas US forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report. The reported incident follows US strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes. "US destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, adding that a Navy helicopter quickly approached the destroyer and issued a stern warning to leave the area. The US destroyer threatened the Iranian helicopter, but moved out of the area upon continued warning, state TV said. Iranian state media identified the vessel in question as "DDG Fitzgerald", adding the Iranian Army contacted the vessel asserting the helicopter was under its protection and asking the ship to change it direction to the south.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan backs ‘inclusive' political process in Syria, ceasefire in Gaza at Security Council debate
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday backed an 'inclusive' political process to stabilize a Syria rocked by clashes and demanded an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, as he spoke at a United Nations Security Council debate on the evolving Middle East situation. Syria has been rocked by violent clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans that broke out on July 13, killing over 250 people as per media reports and threatening to disrupt the country's post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organization for Migration. Israel carried out a series of attacks on government targets in Syria in support of the Druze clan last week, including a strike on a tank convoy and the shelling of the Defense Ministry in Damascus. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa ordered a fragile ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups last Saturday. Dar, who is in New York to participate in events being held under Pakistan's presidency of the UN Security Council, spoke at an open debate titled, 'The Situation in the Middle East and the Question of Palestine.' 'Pakistan supports the stabilization of Syria through an inclusive political process,' the deputy prime minister, who also serves as Pakistan's foreign minister, said. 'Syria's unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity must be upheld.' He called on Israel to immediately withdraw from the separation zone established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and vacate the Syrian Golan Heights as per the UN Security Council's resolutions. 'GRAVEYARD FOR INNOCENT LIVES' The Pakistani deputy prime minister criticized Israel for its military operations in Gaza, saying that the world was witnessing the 'collapse of humanity' through Tel Aviv's actions. 'Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly international humanitarian law,' he said, noting that over 58,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war since October 2023. He urged the UN Security Council to pursue with unity and urgency an 'immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire' in Gaza. Dar also called for unfettered, sustained and secure access to humanitarian relief items for all civilians and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel there. 'Immediate steps should be taken to ensure the delivery of life-saving food and medical assistance, restore humanitarian supply lines, and prevent famine conditions from taking hold,' he said. Pakistan has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state in the Middle East with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital based on the pre-1967 border.
