By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to repatriate a large number of Pakistani inmates languishing in Thailand’s prisons despite having completed their sentence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written a letter to the Ministry of National Health Services seeking to put Thailand in A-category countries to enable the former to ensure hassle-free repatriation of the inmates via special flights.
The ministry said it needs to repatriate the prisoners through special flights due to the non-availability of direct flights between the two countries. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has divided countries into three categories, A, B, and C given the level of threat of transmission of Covid-19 through passengers travelling from these countries.
Thailand is put among B category countries as passengers from these countries are required to provide negative RT-PCR test, conducted 96 hours prior to the flight.
According to the letter, Thailand lately apprised Islamabad on the coronavirus situation there saying the country had seen no case of local transmission over the past several months with SOPs put in place strictly being enforced.
The letter calls for the health ministry to review the Covid situation in Thailand as its inclusion in category A will help ensure repatriation of the Pakistani nationals. Passengers travelling from category A countries are not required to submit a negative RT-PCR test.
Earlier November 4, A chartered flight of Pakistan International Airlines had brought back 41 Pakistani prisoners serving jail sentences under various charges in Sri Lanka.
That was the first repatriation of prisoners in seven years under the bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) signed by Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2004. Under the agreement, transfers are allowed in cases where sentences exceed a minimum of six months.
