Pakistan Ambassador to the UAE Ghulam Dastgir said that more than 25,000 Pakistanis who are stranded in the UAE have already registered with their diplomatic missions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “It is not an easy task to repatriate all of them during the current circumstances when the flights are closed and the country is under lockdown,” he told reporters while answering a question why Pakistan government is not evacuating its stranded citizens from the UAE.
He said that repatriation process may start anytime soon but he cannot give any date as the situation is evolving every day.
Ambassador explained that both the UAE and Pakistan governments are working together on this issue. “I am also putting pressure on my government to expedite the process while at the same time I am in touch with the UAE authorities concerned to sort out the issue. The UAE government is ready to repatriate Pakistanis but the various departments including the Health authorities back home are not ready to receive such a large number of people from abroad due to lack of quarantine facilities and lockdown in the country.”
Currently, he said quarantine facility is available only at the Islamabad Airport for around 200 people while none of the other airports has this facility. “Coronavirus protocol requires every passenger to spend at least 14 days in quarantine and currently the government is working on the plan to increase the capacity.” he said. Suspension of regular flight operation has already been extended till April 21 as part of measures to combat coronavirus in the country.
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