75 Pakistanis stranded in India due to Covid-19 return home via Wagah-Attari crossing

Pakistan on Thursday repatriated 75 of its nationals who were stranded in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic through the Wagah-Attari land border crossing.

Since March 20, Pakistan has repatriated around 500 of its nationals who were stranded in various parts of India following the closure of the Wagah-Attari crossing as part of measures to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus, said a statement from the Pakistan high commission.

The batch of 75 Pakistanis repatriated on Thursday included people who had been stranded because of the Covid-19 lockdown in cities such as Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Bareilly, Hoshangabad, Hyderababad, Indore, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Raipur, Saharanpur and Vellore.

The Pakistan high commission said it will continue to extend assistance to the remaining Pakistanis stranded in India to return home. The statement didn’t say how many Pakistanis are still stranded in the country.

A total of 627 Indian nationals stranded in Pakistan because of the pandemic returned to the country via the Wagah-Attari crossing during June 25-27.

About 100 Indians are still in Pakistan and the government is in touch with Pakistani authorities and awaiting clearances to facilitate their return, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said last week.