'97,393 Pak nationals repatriated due to COVID-19'

Islamabad, June 26 (IANS) A total of 97,393 Pakistani nationals stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been repatriated, according to the Foreign Ministry.Pakistan started repatriation of its nationals in March in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from different parts of the world, reports Xinhua news agency."As of June 24, a total of 97,393 Pakistani nationals have been repatriated," Ministry spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Thursday.Giving a break-up at her weekly briefing in Islamabad, Farooqui said during the past few days, 3,976 nationals returned from Saudi Arabia, 2,231 from the United Arab Emirates and 263 from Iraq.A special cell namely the Crisis Management Unit is working at the Ministry round the clock with a dedicated team to monitor the phased repatriation of Pakistanis across the globe in the wake of the rising threat of COVID-19. As of Friday, Pakistan has reported 192,970 COVID-19 cases, with 3,962 deaths.
--IANS ksk/