RAWALPINDI: A special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight will bring 300 Pakistani deportees from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

PK-9895 is expected to arrive at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) at 1pm on Tuesday.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said: “PIA will operate a special flight from Kuala Lumpur on Dec 31 to bring back Pakistani expats from Malaysia who were released due to PM’s efforts.”

PIA Public Relations General Manager Abdul Hafeez told Dawn that some of the Pakistanis were illegal immigrants and some were involved in petty crimes and had completed their sentences. However, they had no money to travel back to Pakistan.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken up the issue of the Pakistanis with his Malaysian counterpart Dr Mahathir Mohamad that led to their release.

No other airline was ready to bring back such a large number of people so PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik announced a special flight to bring back the Pakistani nationals, he added.

Mr Khan and senior officials of Foreign Office and PIA are expected to receive the Pakistanis at the IIA.

On May 30, as many as 320 Pakistanis stranded in Malaysia mainly because of the closure of Pakistan airspace for foreign airlines arrived in Islamabad on a special flight.

Some of the Pakistanis had been detained by Malaysian authorities as their residence permits and tickets had expired due to closure of Pakistan’s airspace.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made special arrangements to facilitate the Pakistanis at the IIA.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2019