People gather in Cairo’s international airport as they wait to check-in for their flights early on January 30, 2011 while many tourist and Egyptians were stranded at Cairo airport as flights were disrupted due to the political turmoil in the country. – AFP

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit on Sunday said that Pakistan is monitoring the situation in Egypt closely and is in constant contact with the Pakistani diplomatic mission in Egypt.

The spokesman said that there were more than 150 Pakistani families in Egypt and preparations to bring them back to the country were complete.

While speaking to Dawn.com, Abdul Basit said that more than 500 Pakistanis were present in Cairo and due to the deteriorating situation there, they will be brought back to Pakistan by PAF C 130 aircrafts.

Meanwhile, also on Sunday, the United States said it was offering evacuation flights to Europe for US citizens who wish to leave Egypt, which has been rocked by violent protests seeking an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

“The U.S. Embassy in Cairo informs US citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation to safehaven locations in Europe,” the statement said.

“Flights to evacuation points will begin departing Egypt on Monday, Jan. 31,” it said, describing the evacuation as voluntary.

Turkey was also sending two Turkish Airlines planes to Egypt on Sunday to evacuate is citizens, state-run Anatolian news agency quoted embassy officials in Cairo as saying.

Witnesses said businesses were also starting to evacuate their staff and saw scenes of chaos at the airport, where many people, including Egyptians, were trying to get flights out of the country.