NA constitutes committee for repatriation of overseas Pakistanis

Members will include opposition, government MNAs

The National Assembly has constituted a committee for the repatriation of stranded Pakistani expatriates, according to a statement issued by the NA Secretariat on Friday.

The committee has been formed under the directives of NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, and will comprise members from both the treasury and opposition benches.

The primary objective of the committee is to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, to facilitate and ensure the return of expatriates.

The committee will also be in touch with overseas Pakistanis, who have been facing difficulties such as unemployment due to the ongoing pandemic. The NA committee will assist the expatriates such that their grievances can be addressed through relevant forums.

Pakistani Missions in various countries across the globe will be in coordination with the committee as well for the smooth repatriation of the stranded expatriates.

Besides, officials of the NA secretariat will provide assistance to the committee for the completion of its assigned task.

The constitution of the committee has been lauded by both sides of the aisle in the National Assembly. The initiative was undertaken in response to MNAs who had been concerned by the demands from their constituents who are currently stranded overseas.

On Wednesday, the government issued a new schedule of special flights which would be operational until June 10 to bring back more than 20,000 Pakistanis who are stranded around the world because of coronavirus-induced restrictions on air travel.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf said that the government would further increase the number of inbound passengers per week by expediting the testing process for Covid-19 at the country's airports.

According to the aviation division, after the change in the SOPs, the repatriated Pakistanis would be tested for the coronavirus at the airport instead of being sent to quarantine centres, and they would be asked to quarantine at their respective houses in case symptoms are detected.

Dr Yusuf further added that all passenger data would be collected and monitored through a tracking and tracing system, and the provincial governments could then follow up using that data.