RAWALPINDI: For the first time, 40 Pakistanis deported by Turkish authorities were served with meals upon reaching at the Islamabad International Airport on Friday.

A senior official of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration said it had been decided to provide food, dress and shoes to deportees at major airports with the assistance of two non-government organisations.

He said that medical care, counseling and soft loan for their rehabilitation and reintegration will be provided on need basis.

He said on arrival, the 40 deportees were served with food packs. Video clips released by the FIA showed the deportees being served with rice in disposal packs. Some of them were asked to share one rice pack with another one.

An immigration official said young people who are deported from Turkey are usually caught by the law enforcement agencies and put in jails in inhospitable conditions. Therefore, they are sometimes provided medical aid on arrival.

All the deportees were allowed to go to their homes after verification by the FIA.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021