RAWALPINDI, Feb 22: A batch of 40 Pakistanis deported by Spain arrived at the Islamabad International Airport by a special flight on Thursday.

The special flight of Iberian World Airlines carrying the 40 Pakistanis and 107 Spanish security officials and four doctors touched down at Islamabad airport at 4 pm.

The Pakistan embassy in Spain issued travel documents to the illegal immigrants, most of whom hailed from the Gujranwala division.

According to immigration authorities, the Pakistanis were arrested while they were trying to enter Spain through the sea route. During detention, one of the Pakistanis got himself injured by hammering his head against a wall to avoid deportation, but he recovered after the Spanish authorities gave him first aid.

The 40 Pakistanis, who aged between 20 and 35 years, were placed in the custody of the FIA passport cell, which in turn put them in a lock-up. A number of FIA officials and representatives of the Spanish embassy were present at the airport when the Pakistanis got off the plane.

In October, Spain had deported 42 Pakistanis. The 40 deportees were identified as Mohammad Waqas, Mohammad Zameer, Farhat Liaqat Ali, Sherzadha Khan, Mohammad Afzal, Amir Shahzad, Adnan Hamir, Asjad Ali, Tariq Farooq, Zubair Khan, Mazhar Hussain, Javaid Akram, Mohammad Saqib, Mohammad Yousaf, Mirza Qamar Shahzad, Zia Ahmed, Imran Butt, Kashif Sultan, Manzoor Minhas, Waheed Iqbal, Nasir Iqbal, Abdul Sultan, Khawar Abbas, Bashir Ahmed, Mohammad Arshad, Mirza Baig, Mohammad Arif, Mohammad Shafiq, Javaid Iqbal, Aqeel Aslam, Naveed Iqbal, Naseer Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas, Aamir Hussain, Mohammad Mushtaq, Obaid Ullah, Wajid Nadeem, Ijazullah, Nasir Ali and Shahzad Ahmed.