New Delhi, 05 May: Today, 193 stranded Pakistanis were repatriated via Attari-Wagah border. Pakistan High Commission is pleased to see them return home safely and reunite with their families and friends.
For past several weeks following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in India and closure of Attari-Wagah border, these Pakistanis were stuck in different Indian States including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They had come to India for such purposes as visit, pilgrimage or medical treatment.
We appreciate the understanding and patience shown by these Pakistanis, while the Mission was making efforts for their early repatriation with the support of the Foreign Office and relevant national stakeholders.
The Mission also facilitated and coordinated logistics for transfer of these Pakistanis to Attari, amid lockdown, from twenty-five Indian cities including, among many others, Agra, Ahmedabad, Bijnor, Bhopal, Delhi, Gurgaon, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur and Raipur.
The Mission wishes to note that since 20 March, 243 stranded Pakistanis have been repatriated. We thank the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for their assistance in this regard.
The High Commission would continue with its ongoing efforts towards early repatriation of all the remaining Pakistanis stranded in India.
In these extraordinary times when we are all confronted with the challenge of novel coronavirus, it remains the Mission’s top priority to look after the stranded Pakistanis in India and facilitate their expeditious, safe and smooth return to Pakistan.
