Over 8O stranded Pakistani in India to be repatriated on July 9

NEW DELHI: At least 82 Pakistani nationals stranded in India due to the novel COVID-19 will return home through Wagah Attari border on July 9.

According to a statement issued by Indian diplomatic officials, the Indian Interior Ministry has permitted the return of Pakistani citizens stranded in India, at the request of the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi.

The statement further said 82 Pakistani nationals from Indian cities including New Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana will reach the Attari border of India on the morning of June 9.

The Wagah Attari border will be specially opened for the return of the stranded Pakistanis. The Pakistani embassy has provided a list of its citizens to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, it added.

Pakistani nationals returning from India will undergo the Covid-19 test and will be placed in quarantine. Sources said the majority of the Pakistanis stranded in India are Turks from Karachi and inland Sindh.

“Majority of them are from the Hindu community who travelled to India to perform religious rites but were unable to return due to the lockdown,” sources added.

On the other hand, 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.