Over 140 Pakistanis, celebrities waiting for rescue in Thailand

MANCHESTER: At least 144 Pakistani nationals along with celebrities and film crew have been awaiting rescue from Pakistani authorities in Thailand.

In an exclusive interaction with this reporter, Pakistani actor Shamoon Abbasi said: “I am not just representing my film crew here. There are other Pakistani nationals in Thailand who are awaiting rescue and have contacted me. I can confirm there are at least 144 Pakistani nationals who are stuck here due to this (coronavirus) pandemic”. He said he had been in constant contact with authorities both in Pakistan and in Thailand but the rapidly changing situation was very much worrying for all of them.

“We were told that a flight should be arriving in Thailand for us and others on 4th April but now the earliest they can send one out to us will be on April 11. The hotel we are staying is only open for us and can soon close owing to curfew here. We are five hours away from Bangkok and now we are running out of money and would urge the (Pakistan) government and other relevant authorities to get us out from here as soon as possible”.

The mystery thriller film Durj actor said: “Social media and main stream media have played major role in getting our voices heard. (Foreign Minister) Shah Mehmood Qureshi and (Prime Minister) Imran Khan are aware of our situation and I am hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon.” It may be mentioned here that a Thai Airways flight made a special journey to Islamabad from Bangkok carrying 51 Pakistanis and others on March 28. These passengers were stuck inside transit at Bangkok Airport for six days but later more passengers were allowed to travel.

Referring to the matter, Abbasi said: “We were told that the flight will take only those who were stuck inside the airport, but later the flight was made open for everyone. We were not aware of the arrangement until last minute. As we are five hours away it was physically not possible for us to travel at such a short notice.” The stranded passengers include families, elderly and vulnerable who toured the country for leisure and business.