Fifty-four more Pakistani detainees were released from a Libyan jail, while a special flight left Tripoli on Tuesday morning with 259 Pakistanis on board. According to a statement issued here by Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam, 54 Pakistanis were freed on Monday from Tawesha Jail, located in the epicentre of the ongoing fighting in the western zone of Libya.
The release of the last batch of imprisoned Pakistanis brings the total figure of released compatriots from various Libyan jails to 280, she added. "This not only signifies that almost all the Pakistani prisoners in Libya are now free, but also underlines the dedication to duty shown by the Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli in accomplishing a daunting task in record time," she said, adding that all possible efforts were being made to ensure the safe return/rehabilitation of the released prisoners.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson said that a special flight left Tripoli on Tuesday morning with 259 Pakistanis on board. The Air Libya flight, chartered by the government of Pakistan, is scheduled to arrive in Lahore the same evening. "This brings the total number of special flights operated so far to 10 and the total number of Pakistanis airlifted from Libya to 2,769," she added.
The spokesperson further said that the number of evacuated Pakistanis through land routes from bordering countries had reached 2,700, which brought the overall figure of released Pakistanis from Libya to 5,469. Over 500 destitute Pakistanis were still living in relief camps set up by Pakistan Embassy, waiting to be repatriated in the coming days. Additional special flights would be planned accordingly, the spokesperson added.