ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) to help out stranded citizens in Syria, state-run media reported this week, amid increasing turmoil in Syria as the civil war there intensifies.
Syrian opposition forces have staged a dramatic comeback against President Bashar Assad after the fierce fighting that broke out last week reached its decisive stages.
Syrian opposition forces announced on Saturday they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread. They also said that Assad had fled the country as the opposition forces advanced.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) to facilitate Pakistanis in Syria,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.
It said the decision was taken in response to the ongoing developments and the evolving situation in Syria. The state broadcaster urged Pakistani citizens in Syria to reach out for help at 051-9207887 and also email at [email protected].
“Meanwhile, the Embassy of Pakistan in Damascus continues to actively assist Pakistani nationals in Syria,” Radio Pakistan said.
Pakistan earlier this week expressed alarm at the increasing turmoil in Syria and called for de-escalation in violence in the country.
The fall of Homs and threat to the capital pose an immediate existential danger to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade reign over Syria and the continued influence there of its main regional backer, Iran.
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkiye and Russia issued a joint statement saying the crisis was a dangerous development and calling for a political solution.
Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighboring states.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the strongest rebel group, is the former Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria regarded by the US and others as a terrorist organization, and many Syrians remain fearful it will impose draconian Islamist rule.
US President-elect Donald Trump has said the US should not be involved in the conflict and should “let it play out.”
