July 21, 2006	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 24, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 20: The government has announced that it will dispatch relief goods to Beirut when conditions are permissible.

“The government of Pakistan would be sending relief supplies in the form of medicines and food to Beirut the moment it becomes physically possible to do so,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Thursday said.

The decision has been taken in response to an appeal by the prime minister of Lebanon for humanitarian assistance to enable his country to cope with the effects of the destruction caused by the ongoing Israeli aggression.

EVACUATION: Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told Dawn that the Pakistan embassy in Beirut continued to function and, for now, there were no plans of shutting it down despite the difficult situation.

According to the spokesperson, there were around 300 Pakistanis in Lebanon. She said while some of them had left following the Israeli air strikes, evacuation of others was under way.

The embassy was in touch with the remaining Pakistanis, who were safe, she said.