176 Pakistan citizens, stranded in India due to lockdown, to return home

A group of 176 Pakistanis stranded in India due to the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown will return home via the Attari-Wagah land border crossing on May 27.

More than 400 Pakistani nationals stranded in India have been repatriated via Attari-Wagah land border since March 20.

The Pakistanis who will return on Wednesday were stranded in different states, including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and Delhi due to the extended lockdown and the closure of the Attari-Wagah border crossing following the coronavirus outbreak.

“In line with the Prime Minister’s directions, for safe and smooth repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, the high commission for Pakistan in New Delhi remained in close contact with the Indian side and the Foreign Office has been coordinating with other national authorities in Pakistan,” the high commission said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The high commission also facilitated and coordinated logistics for transporting the Pakistani nationals to Attari from more than 20 Indian cities amid the lockdown.

The ongoing efforts of Pakistan’s foreign ministry will continue till the repatriation of all remaining stranded Pakistanis, the statement said.