ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis, who were stranded at airports in Abu Dhabi and Doha, were flown back to Pakistan early Tuesday morning after the federal government granted special permission to Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways to operate flights.
In a statement issued here, Aviation Division Spokesperson Abdul Sattar Khokhar said that 101 people stranded at Abu Dhabi and Dubai were flown back to Pakistan via Fly Dubai.
“An additional 40 Pakistanis, who were stranded in Doha, also landed at Islamabad International Airport via Qatar Airways,” he said.
He added that all passengers were tested for the coronavirus and their test results are awaited.
The announcement to bring back the stranded nationals was made yesterday by Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Aisha Farooqui.
Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and thanked him for looking after 13 Pakistanis affected in his country.
According to a press release from the Foreign Office, the two ministers also discussed ways to enhance cooperation to combat the spread of the disease.
In view of the situation in Iran, Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored the need for the immediate lifting of sanctions and extending humanitarian assistance to the country.
He also expressed concern over the continuing communication and movement lockdown in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, especially with the pandemic spreading all over the world.
Later in the day, the foreign minister also telephoned his Spanish counterpart and discussed COVID-19 among other things.
