250 Indians stranded in Pakistan return home

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) – At least 250 Indian nationals stranded in Pakistan due to coronavirus restrictions were repatriated on Thursday.

A total of 748 Indian nationals will return home over three days until June 27, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

It said 250 more Indians will cross over from the Wagah-Attari land border near the northeastern city of Lahore on Friday, and the remaining 248 will go back on Saturday.

The Indian citizens, some of them Kashmiri students studying in Pakistan, were stranded in different cities, including Lahore and the capital Islamabad, due to coronavirus-related lockdown.

From March to May, Pakistan also brought back 400 of its citizens from India.

- International flights

Pakistan also announced on Thursday that it will permit all international flights bringing back stranded Pakistani citizens from different countries.

“All airlines have been allowed to enter Pakistan, and 270 flights are expected to land in the country from June 26 to June 30,” state-run Radio Pakistan quoted Moeed Yusuf, a special assistant to the prime minister, as saying.

He said all returnees will undergo health checks at airports upon their arrival, advising citizens to only travel if they were completely healthy.