LAHORE:Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has alleged that the PTI government had totally abandoned the overseas Pakistanis in the coronavirus crisis despite that they had been earning billions of foreign exchange for the country and helping the nation in every difficulty.
Addressing a press conference at Mansoora, he said there was none to look after the Pakistanis abroad and the Pakistani embassies there were not cooperating with them in any manner, he alleged and demanded the government repatriate these people on emergency basis and provide them free treatment and other facilities. He said 130,000 Pakistanis in Gulf countries had applied for air tickets back home but the government announced a repatriation schedule Monday for only 3,000 Pakistanis until 10th June.
Sirajul Haq said he had personally made every effort to contact the federal minister for Overseas Pakistanis these days but it was all in vain. He alleged that PIA was charging four, five times higher fare than the normal from these Pakistanis exploiting the helplessness of these people. He said the government was charging Rs3,000 per night for quarantine from these people besides Rs1,500 per day for meals. He demanded that these people should be provided facilities free-of-cost. He said if the PIA was short of funds, a reasonable amount out of the Corona Relief fund announced by the government should be reserved for the overseas Pakistanis. He said that the Pakistanis returning home should be treated as guests and not as criminals. Referring to the devastation by locusts, Sirajul Haq lamented that the governments had not taken effective measures to meet this challenge. He said the farmers had suffered heavy losses due to locust attack. He demanded that farmers be compensated for their losses out of the corona relief fund. He demanded that the Tiger Force set up by the government could be utilised to counter the locusts attack. He demanded that in the next year budget, the non-development expenditure should be dropped and higher amounts should be allocated for health and education.