By Shakeel Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari said on Thursday 5,500 Pakistani nationals stuck in Qatar will be brought back through five special flights to be operated over next two weeks.
Speaking in a teleconference with Pakistani expats in Qatar, the government will bring back about 700 Pakistanis who have lost their jobs in the UAE. The SAPM said the companies that employed the Pakistanis will bear all their travel expenses. He added the people who lost their livelihoods in the Middle East will be provided jobs under the Kamyam Jawan Programme.
Earlier, as many as 440 Pakistani traders stuck in China for over a month due to suspension of international flights appealed to the federal government to make arrangements for their repatriation. In a video message, the traders said they have been stranded in the neighbouring country for about a month and a half and could not make it their home country owing to the suspension of international flights because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We are not asking the government for alms or financial assistance,” one of the stranded traders said, adding they will bear travel expense themselves and will also cater for quarantine expenses upon their return to the country.
