At least 193 Pakistani nationals stranded in India due to the lockdown were repatriated to their country today via the Attari-Wagah border.
In a press release, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi noted that since 20 March, 243 stranded Pakistanis have been repatriated and thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for its assistance in this regard.
For past several weeks following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in India that led to the closure of the Attari-Wagah border, several Pakistani nationals were stuck in different states, including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They had come to India for pilgrimage, medical treatment or other purposes.
”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 High Commission said.
The mission also facilitated and coordinated logistics for transfer of these Pakistanis to Attari, amid lockdown, from 25 Indian cities, including Agra, Ahmedabad, Bijnor, Bhopal, Delhi, Gurgaon, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur and Raipur.