KHAR: A group of Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan due to closure of border points has called upon the government to allow them back to their homeland.

In a video massage released here on Monday, the students studying in medical colleges in Nangarhar province’s Jalalabad city, said they had been stranded there for the last 25 days due to closure of the border in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.

The students said they were facing problems in getting food items as markets were closed and were also running out of money.

The students, who spoke in Pashto, said they had been visiting the Pakistan consulate in Jalalabad daily to ask the officials to make arrangements for their early return to their country.

However, they said the consulate officials had so far been unable to ensure their return to Pakistan.

The students said the Pakistani government had decided to open the border routes from Monday to allow Afghan citizens to go back to their homes, and demanded that Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan should also be allowed to travel to their destinations.

The students in their video massage requested the officials concerned to take notice of their plight and make arrangements for their immediate return to their homes.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2020