Zubair Qureshi
Parliamentary Committee on repatriation of Zaireen, Tableeghi Jamaat and Overseas Pakistanis on Friday directed Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and other concerned officials to take immediate steps to repatriate Pakistani nationals trapped in Afghanistan, Iran and Middle Eastern countries.
The committee met with Speaker National Assembly (NA) Asad Qaisar in chair. Chairman of subcommittee Shehryar Khan Afridi gave a detailed briefing on the progress made over the subject.
Afridi informed the Speaker that 1097 Tableeghi Jamaat members trapped in various countries abroad have been brought back to Pakistan through special flights.
He told that 237 Afghan nationals of Tableeghi Jamaat have been sent back after testing negative of Covid-19.
NA Speaker was also informed that another 243 foreigners have also been flown out of Pakistan after testing negative besides thousands of Tableeghi Jamaat members trapped in various part of Pakistan due to lockdown had been sent back to their respective houses since the committee took over the job.
Shehryar Afridi said 263 Pakistanis had been brought back from Japan and Bangkok to Islamabad and they had been quarantined and their samples sent for Coronavirus test.
He told that 50 Zaireen from Taftan border had been brought to Punjab and later sent to their homes after spending quarantine period.
“Moreover, another flight had brought back 250 Pakistanis from United Arab Emirates who had also been sent to their homes after spending quarantine period. A flight from Jeddah had brought back 542 Pakistanis who had been quarantined,” the minister told the committee.
Afridi told the committee that 200 prisoners had arrived from United Arab Emirates at Faislabad and were quarantined.
Shehryar Afridi also submitted progress report on return of stranded Pakistanis in Iran, Afghanistan and Gulf states. Speaker National Assembly appreciated the efforts of Shehryar Afridi-led parliamentary committee and the efforts of federal and provincial government officials for making unprecedented efforts to help bring back trapped Pakistanis from abroad. He also praised the officials for facilitating the retrain of trapped Zaireen and Tableeghi Jamaat members to their respective homes.
