ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Embassy and Consulate in Saudi Arabia sent back 500 stranded nationals to their homeland on two special flights that departed from Riyadh and Jeddah, the country’s press counselor in Jeddah, Muhammad Arshad Munir, told Arab News on Thursday.
He said these flights brought back Pakistanis to Islamabad and Lahore, adding that the government was “planning to arrange more flights in the coming days to repatriate its citizens from Saudi Arabia.”
One of the flights left Riyadh for Islamabad on May 1. The country’s ambassador, Raja Ali Ejaz, bode farewell to the Pakistani nationals at the King Khalid International Airport.
Addressing the passengers before their departure, the envoy said that the government was taking all possible measures to ensure the welfare, safe and early return of Pakistanis across the world, including the Kingdom.
He thanked the passengers for their patience and cooperation during these difficult times.
According to a statement issued by the country’s consulate in Jeddah, more than 13,000 Pakistanis, mostly on short-term visas and final exits, are currently stranded in Saudi Arabia because of the cancelation of international flights due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In March, Pakistan repatriated 15,000 nationals who went to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and found themselves stranded amid the coronavirus lockdown in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia halted all international flights and suspended Umrah pilgrimage in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
