RAWALPINDI: Moving scenes were witnessed at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) when a special flight carrying 232 Pakistanis who had been stranded in Ukraine, landed in the capital.

Some of the passengers were seen shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ while others appreciated the management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Pakistani embassy for making timely arrangements so they could return to their homeland safely.

“Long live Pakistan and PIA,” they shouted while disembarking the plane. The plane was sent from Pakistan to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to repatriate the stranded Pakistanis on Tuesday morning.

A PIA Boeing 777 was dispatched on the instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government. Officials from the ministry and PIA were present at the airport to welcome passengers of the special flight.

A PIA spokesman said on Tuesday that it was the first flight operated for the repatriation of Pakistanis in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

More flights will be operated in the coming days to bring back the remaining 1,200 Pakistanis, he added. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, air operations to the country were suspended.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022