KARACHI: Anjum Rehman, 25, is constantly in touch with his brother-in-law, Mohammad Ashfaque, in Benghazi where violence involving armed militants has once again paralysed the city.

Mr Ashfaque is among the hundreds of Pakistani nationals who have their businesses in Tripoli and Benghazi or work as labourers at garment factories.

He is seeking help from philanthropists and officials back home due to an armed conflict between two cities, Zintan and Misrata.

So far, two flights carrying 360 Pakistanis have arrived in Lahore and another one is expected to land in the city on Tuesday.

Also read: Nawaz orders chartered flights to bring back Pakistanis in Libya

The last flight on Friday carried two bodies of Pakistani nationals who died in Libya from natural causes. One of them has been identified as Parvez Masih and the other as Mohammad Jahangir, an embroidery designer.

They had moved to Libya from Sialkot and Gujranwala, respectively.

Most of those returning home hail from Punjab whereas some others from Sindh.

According to a source at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a sizeable bulk of people among them also include people who had illegally migrated to Libya. As a result of that, the first scheduled flight from Tripoli had to be postponed to Friday after most of them were stopped at the immigration and asked to pay the fine.

According to Shagufta Burney, a member of the Ansar Burney Trust who is helping Pakistanis return home, those seeking to come back first got in touch with the Pakistan embassy, which then contacted the organisation for assistance.

Among those who gauged the worsening situation and came home around Eidul Azha is Raja Hussain, 32, a resident of Orangi Town.

Also read: 260 Pakistanis arrive from strife-torn Libya

Working in the maintenance department of a factory in Tripoli, Mr Hussain says his father was among the 20 people nominated by the government of Pakistan to work in Libya. “I was two when my father moved to Tripoli as head of the department. My visits were earlier restricted to sightseeing but later I joined him as he was nearing retirement and we needed money. So, I applied and got accepted at the factory,” he says.

However, he adds that “despite having an overseas employment card, my father was not given his dues. He came back with just his retirement papers in hand”.

Also read: 500 stranded Pakistanis in strife-torn Libya arrive in Lahore

Even before leaving for Pakistan, he says, “I did speak to the embassy over there but they were not so prompt with their help. When one has to get out of a conflict zone, one has to have a source in the right place to ensure a timely exit. It would have taken a lot of time, so I left on my own.” He adds that it will take him a while to get back to Tripoli “considering the situation getting worse every day”.

But not everyone thinks this way. Mohammad Shehzad, whose brother is an operations manager at a shipping company, says they haven’t asked his brother to come back early. “This is his only way of earning. Yes, it’d be better for him to shift to another country, but not back here. Please don’t get me wrong,” he says.

As for Anjum Rehman, he is hoping that his brother-in-law is among those returning home on Tuesday. “We have no idea about the situation in Benghazi or Tripoli. If he gets a number on one of the flights on Tuesday, well and good, otherwise we have asked him to come back on his own,” he says.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd , 2014