Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will repatriate 6,461 Pakistanis stranded in Gulf countries.
Talking to media, he said that two flights carrying 155 and 145 passengers are arriving in Pakistan from Doha and Bahrain on Monday (July 5). Aviation Minister said that instead of Airbus, the PIA would operate Boeing 777 to bring back Pakistanis from Dubai, Sharjah, Doha and Bahrain before Eid holidays.
About 3,394 passengers will be brought back from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through 10 PIA flights will be operated between July 5 and July 18 while six flights carrying about 2,916 passengers will be operated from Doha from July 6 to 18. Moreover, two Boeing 777 carrying 722 people will arrive between July 8 and 11.
The minister also said though the Ring Road project was a provincial matter he was hopeful that work on it would start in September. He said the surge in prices of commodities was not a public concern; the actual public issue is unemployment. However, he said 1.6 million people had been sent abroad during the PTI government for jobs.
He said earlier about five million Afghan refugees had come to Pakistan and about two million of whom got Pakistani nationality, but this time about half a million refugees were expected though a major part of Pakistan-Afghan border has been sealed.
Minister further stated that it was for the first time that the political leadership on the desire of the opposition gathered under one roof to discuss the national security situation emerging in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign forces from there.
