Pakistan thanks MEA for sending 193 stranded citizens back home

The Pakistan High Commission on Tuesday thanked the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for sending its 193 stranded citizens back home via Attari-Wagah border on Tuesday."For the past several weeks following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in India and closure of Attari-Wagah border, these Pakists were stuck in different Indian states including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal," said the Pakistan High Commission (PHC) here in a statement.

The Pakistan High Commission on Tuesday thanked the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for sending its 193 stranded citizens back home via Attari-Wagah border on Tuesday. They had come to India on a pilgrimage or for medical treatment.

"For the past several weeks following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in India and closure of Attari-Wagah border, these Pakists were stuck in different Indian states including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal," said the Pakistan High Commission (PHC) here in a statement.

"The Mission wishes to note that since March 20, 243 stranded Pakists have been repatriated. We thank the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for their assistance in this regard," it added.

The release further stated that PHC is pleased to see its citizens return home safely and reunite with their families and friends.

"The Mission also facilitated and coordinated logistics for transfer of these Pakists 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 release further added.

The PHC also said that it would continue to work for the early repatriation of all the remaining Pakists stranded in India. Last month, a total of 41 Pakist nationals were sent back to their home country via the Attari-Wagah border.

( With inputs from ANI )