Pakistan has partially resumed international flights to bring back more and more civilians stranded in other countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As reported by The Express Tribune, the country closed its airspace for two weeks for international flights on 21 March and then the suspension was extended several times.
The government has reopened 25 percent of the country's airspace on Sunday, so that civilians stranded abroad can return. Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged that the government will take all possible measures to facilitate citizens returning to the country after losing employment abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The migrant workers have suffered the most in this pandemic, but they have shown great courage and made us proud," he tweeted on Sunday.
Speaking to a private TV channel, Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, the Prime Minister's special assistant in Overseas Pakistani and Human Resource Development matters, said that the initiative to partially reopen the airspace was taken on Khan's instructions, as the government is worried about the Pakistani laborers trapped. These workers are trapped abroad, especially in Gulf countries.
A new policy was revealed by the federal government on 16 June, under which it announced the reopening of 25 percent of its airspace on 20 June. The Express Tribune report states that under this policy, around 40,000 to 45,000 Pakistanis will return to the country every week and all stranded civilians will be sent home in a month.
Only passengers who have signs of infection will be tested and if found positive, they will be kept in confinement with facilities provided by the government. However, each passenger must stay in isolation for 14 days at home and present it in writing at the airport. About 70 percent of the aircraft will fly to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait and Malaysia, where Pakistani workers are stranded.
Like and Follow us on :
