Stranded Pakistanis in Middle East, Europe to be repatriated by July 20 — aviation minister

Members of a Pakistani family wait at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to their country, on May 7, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (AFP/File)

• Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan told the National Assembly that over 54,000 Pakistanis had already been flown back to their homeland
• Pakistani citizens living abroad found themselves in an inconvenient situation after international airlines canceled their confirmed bookings due to virus restrictions

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan told the National Assembly on Friday that all stranded Pakistani nationals in the Middle East and Europe would be brought back to the country by July 20.
According to Radio Pakistan, Khan said the country’s national air career had started operating special flights for overseas Pakistanis and brought back a little more than 54,000 stranded nationals “in a dignified manner.”
The minister maintained that Pakistanis working abroad were their country’s “precious assets” since they made significant contributions to the national economy.
He added that their remittances had almost amounted to $29 billion in the last fiscal year.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced his government’s initiative to launch the National Remittance Loyalty Program to provide incentives to Pakistani nationals working abroad.
The country’s Civil Aviation Authority also took serious notice of the decision taken by several international airlines to cancel their flights to Pakistan, saying they should not have issued confirmed tickets to passengers before the country’s decision to lift COVID-19 restrictions on inbound air traffic.
The top official of Pakistan International Airlines, Arshad Malik, said the national air career would arrange as many special flights to bring back Pakistani nationals from other countries as required “since we cannot leave our fellow citizens helpless in foreign lands.”