121 bodies repatriated to Pakistan from UAE in 40 days

DUBAI: Around 121 bodies of Pakistani expatriates have been repatriated by the country's consulate in Dubai on special flights over the past 40 days, said Ahmed Amjad Ali, Consul-General of Pakistan in Dubai, international media reported on Thursday.

All the repatriated mortal remains were of the people died of non-COVID reasons. Because of safety and precautionary measures, repatriation of people died of COVID-19 are not permitted to be repatriated.

The final rites of the people who die of the pandemic are performed within the UAE. "There might be four or five more bodies pending for repatriation from Dubai to Pakistan. This is an ongoing process and we repatriate as many bodies as possible on every next available flight," said Ali. He noted that around 12,000 people have been repatriated from the UAE through special flights and around 8,000 of them were flown by 40 flights by Pakistan International Airlines.