Monitoring Desk
DUBAI: More than 11,000 Pakistanis who had come on a visit visa in search of jobs are the most desperate people who want to fly back and they are the priority of the consulate followed by those who have been laid off or sent on unpaid leave, according to Ahmed Amjad Ali, Consul General of Pakistan, Dubai.
He said 4,500 Pakistanis have been repatriated with the help of UAE and Pakistani carriers and while the number people who have registered to go back with Dubai consulate reached 63,000.
“People who had come on a visit visa in search of jobs are the most desperate people. They are the top priority. Then there are workers who have been laid off and third priority are those people who are on unpaid leave. In addition, there are emergency cases as well. I want to assure all Pakistanis that they will be repatriated but it is a time-consuming work due to restrictions of flights. Therefore, they need to have patience,” Ali said on Monday.
Also, a high-level Pakistani government meeting was held in Islamabad on Monday where the option of home quarantine and increasing quarantine facilities was also discussed by the authorities.
He added that Pakistani carrier should be allowed to repatriate Pakistanis from the UAE but quarantine facilities is a major challenge for the government.
Through 15 PIA flights, more 2,800 people have been repatriated so far from Dubai while another 368 people who have been pardoned by the rulers are also in line to be sent back.
“Majority of the people who have registered to be repatriated are from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunwa Khawah,” he said, adding that the consulate is involved only in PIA operations and not in the UAE airlines.
“The UAE government is managing local carriers’ chartered flights independently,” Ali added.
It was earlier reported in Pakistani media last month that 100,000 Pakistanis are stranded in different across the globe and majority of them are in the UAE.
The consul-general assured that social distance guidelines are being strictly followed on all PIA flights outbound from Dubai.
He revealed that 56 dead bodies have also been sent back on special flights as well as cargo flights and all of those were non-coronavirus bodies.
“There is a backlog of a few dead bodies which hopefully will be cleared next week.”
Ration distribution
The consul-general said 14,200 ration packets have been distributed to different families and bachelors across Dubai and Northern Emirates and this ration distribution process will continue during the holy month of Ramadan as well.
He said around 22,000 people have registered for ration distribution with the consulate.
“I want to thank Pakistani community members for their benevolence and donations in these tough times for their countrymen,” he added.
Courtesy: (Khaleejtimes)
