DUBAI: The Pakistan diplomat missions in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have revised the fares of “special flights” for the stranded Pakistanis but have adopted two different ticket issuing policy in the emirates.
Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Pakistan Consulate in Dubai announced the reduction of ticket price after the notice taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan on overcharging of Pakistanis stranded in emirates.
But, many stranded Pakistanis were confused after getting different instructions from embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai.
Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi authorised travel agents for issuing air-tickets while Pakistan Consulate in Dubai asked the stranded Pakistanis not to buy tickets from any travel agent.
Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi released a public statement revealing the new policy for issuing tickets but the Consul General of Pakistan to Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali released a video statement about new fares and process of obtaining tickets.
The Consul General Ahmed Amjad Ali asked the stranded Pakistanis to obtain their air-tickets available only at the designated counter in Deira Dubai after getting confirmation from the Consulate. While, Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi stated that the stranded Pakistanis can also book their tickets from the PIA website and its mobile application instead of visiting the embassy or PIA office in Abu Dhabi.
The Press Section of both the diplomatic missions (Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Pakistan Consulate in Dubai) is based in Dubai. The section stated that the embassy’s statement was for stranded Pakistanis living in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain. While, the video message of the Consul General is for Pakistanis residing in Dubai and Northern emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al-Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain), according to press section.
Moreover, the the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali announced the the fares of economy class for Karachi Dh810 (Rs36,200) in his video message on Tuesday evening while the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai released a public statement on Wednesday evening mentioning the air-ticket of economy class for Karachi Dh1,000 (Rs44,800).
Consequently, the ticket prices released by both the diplomatic missions for the stranded Pakistanis eventually became the same.
Few days back, Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the exorbitant fares charged from Pakistanis stranded in the UAE and issued instructions to Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan to control the fares.
The Pakistan authorities revised the ticket fares downward second time since the start of repatriation process in mid of April.
On the other hand, more than 20,000 Pakistanis have been repatriated home from the UAE since mid April, according to the figures released this week.
Around 15,000 passengers departed on special flights from Dubai while 5,000 flew to Pakistan from Abu Dhabi. Moreover, the diplomatic officials revealed that more than 62,000 stranded Pakistanis are still waiting to go home from the UAE.