Pakistan Government Add More Flights to Repatriate Its Citizens

Prime Minister's special assistant for development of Pakistani human and overseas resources, said Human Resource Development Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, said the government would add more flights to its repatriation program next week to repatriate as many as possible of Pakistanis. blocked from Saudi Arabia.

Addressing the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia via conference call, SAPM said that Pakistan is currently operating two flights a week to repatriate its citizens from the Kingdom, which may increase in the next phase.

"I am making every effort to increase this number from three to five next week," he said, assuring overseas Pakistanis that the government had decided to regularly repatriate its citizens amid the pandemic of coronavirus. "Zulfikar Bukhari said Previously, the country had the capacity to repatriate 2,000 people a week, which had risen to 6,000 in the current phase.

The number could reach 8,000 in the next few days after achieving the desired results, he added.

He said the government is responsible for airlifting stranded Pakistanis from around the world.

He added that preference was given to those who qualified the definition of "stranded citizens".

He said about 15,500 Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia were planning to return home immediately. It included 6,000 dismissed workers, 3,500 were on paid or unpaid leave, and the rest belonged to other categories. The workers made redundant also concerned those who had been evicted by Saudi companies before the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

According to official data, he said: "Only 3,066 workers are those who were laid off by companies in Saudi Arabia because of the coronavirus." SAPM said the government has asked all Pakistani embassies and consulates abroad to prioritize sick people during the repatriation process.

Arrangements have also been made to secure the transportation of the bodies to Pakistan, he said.

He urged all Pakistanis abroad to avoid unnecessary travel to the country and gave compatriots who had expired their visas or lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis a chance.

During a consultation, he said that Saudi Arabia had issued a decree prohibiting its companies from dismissing employees.

“Saudi government thank you for treating our people better then other countries,” he said.

He said Pakistan is appreciated around the world for its efforts to repatriate citizens from around the world. Zulfkiar Bukhari also congratulated the Pakistani community for taking care of his fellow workers in Saudi Arabia. The town hall virtual meeting was organized by the OP HRD ministry to inform expatriates in Saudi Arabia of government decisions to provide aid to the Pakistani diaspora. Over 50 people attended the meeting, including representatives from the Pakistani Embassy and Consulate General in Saudi Arabia who live there.