Free ambulance service to be provided to expats

Islamabad: The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Edhi Foundation for the provision of ambulances for transporting the bodies of overseas Pakistanis from the Islamabad Airport to their hometowns free of charge.

A spokesman for the OPF said the foundation struggled to manage the overwhelming demand of its ambulance service by the Overseas Pakistanis needing transportation of the bodies of their loved ones after the recent inauguration and expansion of the new Islamabad airport.

He said special assistant to the prime minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari understood the urgency of the matter in the wake of the recent surge in demand for ambulance by overseas Pakistanis and got the MoU signed.

The Edhi Foundation operates the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network and has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The spokesman said the OPF and Edhi Foundation would work in unison towards a common goal of providing seamless services to overseas Pakistanis.

He said the OPF had been working since 1979 under the auspices of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and was committed to providing facilitation to Overseas Pakistanis and their dependents.