ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has discussed with the ministers concerned the repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in Kuwait due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The speaker took up the matter with Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Interior Minister retired Brig Ejaz Shah and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfi Bukhari for starting special flight operations from and to Kuwait.

The coronavirus pandemic has left a significant number of Pak­is­tani expatriates stranded in Kuwait who intend to return to the country and are constantly asking for a regular operation of special flights from and to Kuwait for their repatriation.

The speaker informed the cabinet members that there were many Pakistanis in Kuwait who wanted to return to the country. He said in the absence of regional passport offices in their zones, they had to travel long journeys for renewal of their travel documents.

The NA speaker took the matter of regional passport offices with the interior minister for expanding the network of Regional Passport Offices so that genuine grievances of the expatriates could be appropriately addressed.

Likewise, the matter of special flights’ operation from and to Kuwait has been taken up with the Ministries of Aviation and Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development so that smooth repatriation of the expatriates could be ensured.

The matter was raised in the National Assembly last week and the aviation minister said that efforts were being made to bring stranded Pakistanis back home.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2020