ISLAMABAD: As many as 251,624 Pakistani nationals were repatriated to the country from abroad during the tenure of the present government.

According to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s written reply to a question asked by MNA Sajida Begum of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, 45,008 Pakistanis were brought to the country between June 1 and Dec 31, 2013, 78,409 in 2014 and 116,165 during last year.

In the past few months 12,022 Pakistanis were repatriated from all over the world.

According to official documents, 120,393 persons were sent back from Saudi Arabia, 38,097 from Iran, 23,330 from the United Arab Emirates, 5,400 from the United Kingdom, 358 from the United States, 11,248 from Oman, 9,789 from Malaysia and 6,976 from Greece during the two and a half years.

Another 4,304 were repatriated from Turkey, 1,275 from South Africa, 493 from Qatar, 485 from France, 198 from Canada, 99 from Australia, 91 from Bangladesh, 115 from China, 64 from Japan, 30 from Afghanistan and 27 from India.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2016