ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said so far, 62,000 stranded Pakistanis have been brought back from abroad.
He said this while speaking at a special meeting held in Islamabad, with Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser in the chair, to discuss issues related to stranded Pakistanis.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said 2018 out of 2054 members of Tableeghi Jamaat stranded in 26 countries had been repatriated.
The foreign minister said bodies of 479 overseas Pakistanis, who passed away due to Coronavirus, were brought back, while Pakistani missions played a pivotal role in burial of 40 people in various Gulf countries.
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He said our embassies, despite of limited resources, have spent 150 million rupees on provision of food, medicines, financial assistance, and free tickets for overseas Pakistanis.
The Minister said the government is taking every possible step for repatriation of stranded Pakistanis.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfi Bukhari said the capacity to repatriate has been enhanced from 2000 per week to 18,000 per week with operationalization of six airports.
He informed of plans for resumption of air traffic up to 40 percent of the pre-lockdown levels. He hoped that these measures would substantially alleviate problems being faced by stranded Pakistanis in coming back home. He also informed the gathering that over 580 students have been repatriated from China through provision of up to 50 percent subsidized air tickets.
