...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...and Syria as a special flight of Pakistain International Airlines (PIA) carrying them arrived in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The flight transported sixty-seven Pak nationals repatriated from Lebanon who travelled to Damascus by road before being airlifted to Pakistain, said the Foreign Office.
Four other Paks from Syria were also evacuated, according to the FO.
The Foreign Office said in a statement that the security, transport and food arrangements were made by the Pakistain Embassy in Lebanon and Syria to ensure incident-free evacuation through Lebanon.
Upon their arrival, the evacuees were welcomed at the airport by Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori, Federal Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Sindh Industries Minister Jam Ikramullah Dharejo.
Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori highlighted the government's commitment to ensuring the safe return of Paks from Lebanon, assuring that the remaining Paks stranded in Lebanon would also be repatriated soon.
He also acknowledged the timely actions of the embassies in facilitating the swift return of the Paks, expressing gratitude that 71 Paks had safely returned from war-hit Lebanon.