Covid-19: hundreds of Pakistan citizens repatriated from Somaliland

By: MoDuale

Hundreds of Pakistani citizens stranded amid Covid-19 were repatriated from Somaliland. Horndiplomat reports

The government of Somaliland has supported the ‘unprecedented’ effort to Repatriated Pakistani citizens stranded in Somaliland.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is going to conduct a special repatriation operation to bring back thousands of citizens stranded across the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There are over 100,000 Pakistanis stranded in 88 countries, with a majority in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia,

Pakistan National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf speaking Media earlier in the month said. “In the first phase, 30 special flights will be operated from May 2 to May 10 to bring back our citizens,”

He said 15,000 Pakistanis had already been repatriated from 38 countries.

Of the remaining, around 70,000 and 15,000 are in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

Several countries, including the US, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, have given permission for special flights by the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“The PIA still does not have access to many of 88 countries where our citizens are stranded. But we are making alternative arrangements to bring them back,” said Yusuf.

“Laborers and daily wagers, who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis or those whose visas have or are about to expire, will be brought back on priority.”

There are over 3.1 million Pakistanis in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, which alone hosts nearly two million Pakistanis, tops the list of countries with highest remittances to Pakistan, over $4.5 billion annually, followed by the UAE with over $3.47 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

This is a developing story, Please check back at the Horndiplomat for Updates.
© Horn Diplomat 2020