6,460 Pakistanis From Gulf States To Return By PIA

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will repatriate 6,461 Pakistanis stuck in Gulf states as two flights with 155 and 145 passengers are likely to reach the country from Doha and Bahrain on Monday.

At his public secretariat in Saddar, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan informed media that instead of Airbus the PIA would operate Boeing 777 to bring back the Pakistanis from states including Sharjah, Dubai, Bahrain, and Doha on 18 flights before Eid. The operation of Boeing would increase the capacity of passengers by 2,000.

On the other hand, according to a spokesman for PIA, one flight from Doha with 155 passengers and another from Bahrain with 145 passengers will arrive on July 5.

3,394 passengers will be repatriated from the UAE by 10 PIA flights which will run from July 5 to July 18. Additionally, six flights with about 2,916 passengers will fly from Doha between July 6 and 18.

Furthermore, two Boeing 777 with 722 passengers will arrive between July 8 and 11.

According to the minister, though the Ring Road project was a provincial matter but hopefully, work on it would begin in September.

In reply to a query, he stated that the increase in prices of commodities was not a public issue instead the actual public issue is unemployment. But as per stated by him, 1.6 million people had been sent overseas for jobs during the PTI government.

He further stated that previously around five million Afghan refugees had reached Pakistan and near two million of them got Pakistani nationality, but this time around half a million refugees were expected despite of the fact that a major part of Pakistan-Afghan border has been sealed.

“If they enter Pakistan, they will not be permitted to move to the cities,” he added.

Read more: 'Sadpara Air Safari’ To Be Launch From Karachi: PIA

In reply to a query, Mr Khan stated that as far as he knows, the government will give permission to use any base to the US nor would allow it using its airspace for drone attacks.