Coronavirus pandemic: ANP leader asks govt to bring back stranded Pakistanis

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) senior leader and former minister, Syed Aqil Shah, has expressed concern over the hardships being faced by Pakistani expatriates, especially in Gulf States.

In a statement, the Awami National Party leader said hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis had been stranded in other countries in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, but the “inefficient” government has shut eyes to the miseries they have been passing through.

The bodies of dozens of Pakistanis, who died of Covid-19, are lying in different countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but the government and Pakistani embassies have failed to transport them back home so far, he added.

He said expatriate Pakistanis had contributions to strengthening the economy and foreign remittances were the backbone of the national economy. Syed Aqil Shah, who has remained a senator in the past as well, said Pakistanis working in foreign countries were an asset by dint of their hard work.

He asked the government to bring back the stranded Pakistanis forthwith, pointing out that majority of them were Pashtuns. The Awami National Party leader said the Foreign Office should take notice of the embassies who have badly failed to help Pakistanis as they have been confined to rooms due to coronavirus and even have no money for food and meeting other essential needs.