Stranded Pakistanis in Dubai may be deported

DUBAI: Around 400 stranded Pakistanis holding visit visas of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Dubai airports are feared that they would be deported from the Emirates for not fulfilling the latest entry conditions.

The Pakistan Consulate in Dubai confirmed that more than 300 Pakistanis are stuck at the Dubai airport since Tuesday. Interestingly, 80 more Pakistanis landed at Dubai airport on Wednesday evening without having appropriate travel conditions.

These Pakistanis have been denied entry by immigration authorities because they don’t comply with the current conditions of the immigration, a senior diplomat stated in a written press statement.

According to the new travel advisory for Dubai tourists, visitors should have at least Dh2,000 for their stay. Along with this amount the visitors would have to present hotel bookings at the immigration counter or appropriately prove of their relatives in the Emirates.

The passengers who reached Dubai from Lahore and Multan requested the authorities to address their grievances. “Three hundred and four Pakistanis landed in Dubai on October 13 but they were denied entry into the UAE by immigration authorities,” Deputy Consul General at Pakistan Consulate Giyan Chand stated in a press statement. He further added that Pakistanis were stopped at the airport as they were not complying with the recently introduced travel conditions.

“The consulate has been trying to resolve the issue with local authorities,” he said. The new travel conditions are introduced to keep a barrier to stop “unnecessary and extraneous” visitors from entering the Emirates, a senior travel agent said. He said that hundreds of South Asians visitors had been stranded in emirates who didn’t have sufficient funds to even buy a meal after pandemic struck in the emirates.

Officials informed that these stranded Pakistanis would be sent to their homeland if they wouldn’t be able to meet the entry criteria.