Pakistan has sent a jumbo jet and a naval frigate to evacuate its citizens and diplomatic staff stranded in war-torn Yemen, as Saudi-led air strikes hammered Shiite Huthi rebel targets, officials said Sunday.
Pakistan's ambassador to Yemen Irfan Shami told state television that 482 Pakistanis would be evacuated on the first flight.
"The plane has landed at Hodeidah and boarding has started. On seeing the plane landing, stranded Pakistanis expressed their happiness by clapping," the ambassador told Pakistan Television.
Ahmed Assiri, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, confirmed to reporters in Riyadh later on Sunday that coalition forces had "ensured a safe corridor" by suspending operations around Hodeidah airport for a few hours to allow Pakistan "to evacuate its citizens," adding that they had returned home.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was personally monitoring the evacuation and had directed officials to ensure the safe return of every citizen, a spokesman of Sharif's office said.
Earlier, PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) spokesman Hanif Rana told AFP that a Boeing 747 had been flown to Hodeidah.
A second, smaller plane with a capacity of 230 passengers was also being kept on stand by in Pakistan, he said.
A frigate had also been sent to assist and would remain on stand by in the Gulf of Aden, a naval spokesman told AFP.
Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said late Saturday that around 3,000 Pakistanis lived in Yemen with some 1,000 trying to leave the country.
A convoy of 16 buses was carrying stranded Pakistanis from the capital of Sanaa to Hodeidah, he said, while some remained stranded in the southern government stronghold of Aden and were awaiting a lull in the fighting so they too could be rescued.
Restating Islamabad's staunch support for the Gulf kingdom, Chaudhry said a delegation would soon leave for Riyadh, but rejected reports that Pakistan would join the Saudi-led coalition bombing mission.
Pakistan is a longstanding ally of Saudi Arabia with close military ties, but Islamabad has not yet committed to the operation, which has drawn strong criticism from its neighbour Iran, the major Shiite Muslim power.
Source: AFP