Another 176 Pakistanis stranded in India fly back today

ISLAMABAD: Another 176 Pakistanis stranded in India due to COVID-19 lockdown will return home via Attari-Wagah border on Wednesday (today).

These Pakistanis were stranded in different Indian states including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi due to the extended lockdown and closure of Attari-Wagah border following the outbreak of coronavirus.

In line with the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directions for safe and smooth repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi remained in close contact with the Indian side and the Foreign Office has been coordinating with other national authorities in Pakistan. The high commission in New Delhi also facilitated and coordinated logistics for transfer of these Pakistanis to Attari from more than twenty different Indian cities, amid the lockdown.

More than 400 stranded Pakistanis have already been repatriated from India via Attari-Wagah border since 20 March 2020. The ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue till the repatriation of all remaining stranded Pakistanis, the foreign office said.