Over 112 Indian nationals to be repatriated on July 9

LAHORE: As many as 114 Indian nationals stuck in Pakistan owing to the COVID-19 outbreak will return to their homeland via the Wagah bordering crossing on July 9.

As per details, the Ministry of Interior has written a letter to the director-general of the Punjab Rangers apprising him of the Indian citizens’ homeward journey through the Wagah border on foot.

In the letter, the official instructed that the government-prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs) be followed during their repatriation.

The Indians got stuck in Pakistan after the country closed its frontiers to limit the spread of the COVID-19. Earlier, at least 250 Indian nationals stranded in the country were repatriated on June 25.

Most of the Indian nationals came to Pakistan to meet their relatives and perform religious rites when the lockdown was imposed. The majority of them were staying in Sindh and Punjab province.

A total of 748 Indian citizens were stranded in Pakistan, of them the first group left on June 25 while the rest were to return in the coming days.

Among the other Indian nationals, 70 are from Gujarat, 61 from Maharashtra, 46 from Uttar Pradesh, 38 from Rajasthan, 36 from Punjab, 26 from Delhi, 15 from Madhya Pradesh, 15 from Haryana, 14 from Telangana, six each Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh, four from Tamil Nadu, three from West Bengal, two from Uttarakhand and Himachal and one from Bihar.