ISLAMABAD – The embassy in Tripoli and other foreign missions in the neighbouring countries had been directed to provide all possible assistance to the Pakistanis stranded in Libya and facilitate their evacuation on emergency basis, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar told the National Assembly Tuesday.
“Pakistan’s embassy in Tripoli and Pakistani foreign mission in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Turkey have been directed that passports or other necessary documents, food and other necessary items should be provided to the stranded Pakistanis and facilitate their evacuation,” Hina said, adding that Pakistani embassies in the region were in contact with the Pakistani people.
She informed the house that out of a total of 18,000, around 354 Pakistanis had so far been evacuated from the troubled state while no serious damage or loss of life to any Pakistani was reported. She was responding to a call attention notice raised by Shireen Arshad Khan, Nisar Tanveer, Raja Muhammad Asad and Malik Shakir Bashir Awan. Hin said the passports of many Pakistanis, residing in Libya on work visas, were being kept by their respective employers, but these absence of these documents was not an issue.
Hina informed the Lower House of the Parliament that many Pakistanis were being evacuated through land routes on emergency basis as Tripoli airport was chocked because of various countries’ attempts to airlift their citizens. On a point of order, Riaz Fatyana said the government Pakistan should call a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have dialogue with the autocratic regimes in troubles countries of the Middle East to convince them for reforming their systems.
Fearing that international forces might enter Libya and exploit the oil reserves there, he said Pakistan must act to save the assets of a Muslim country, adding that the Pakistani people fully supported the uprising by the Libyan people against a dictator.
Responding to another calling attention notice about the increase in the prices of medicines, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Mehreen Bhutto said the Ministry of Health had issued notices and imposed penalty on 37 pharmaceutical companies on raising the prices illegally during the last few years. She said the government had not raised the price of any medicine since 2010 and the trend was a result of the hike in petroleum prices and inflation.
