300 Pakistanis imprisoned in Malaysia reach Islamabad

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Pakistan Internationals Airlines (PIA) plane carrying 300 Pakistanis imprisoned in Malaysia arrived in Islamabad from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. The special flight of PIA brought back more than 300 Pakistani nationals languishing in different jails of Malaysia to Pakistan as part of an initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis. A special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) B773-PK9894 carrying Pakistani immigrants arrived in Islamabad at 6:40 pm. They were warmly welcomed by Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Zulfi Bukhari and Federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan at the Islamabad airport. According to a press release by the foreign office, the Malaysian government introduced a Back4good (B4G) Amnesty Scheme to facilitate voluntary repatriation to countries of origin starting from 1 August 2019 and ending on 31 December 2019. As a result of extensive efforts by the High Commission of Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur, over 8000 Pakistanis have returned home safely under this Amnesty Scheme, without facing detention or fines, reads a press release. The Pakistan High Commission issued 1833 Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) over the past five months to the returnees for their expeditious repatriation to Pakistan The welfare of overseas Pakistanis is a priority of the Government of Pakistan. The arrangement of special flight to bring our nationals back from Malaysia in safety is another landmark step, consistent with the Prime Minister’s directions about the welfare of Pakistani nationals, said a press release. It may be recalled that the Pakistani government had made special arrangements in May 2019 to bring back 300 Pakistani detainees through a chartered PIA flight. In a statement, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari said that the welfare of overseas Pakistanis is the top priority of the government. He said that the arrangement of a special plane to bring back the Pakistanis from Malaysia is a good step. Pakistani citizens thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and PIA administration before their departure at KL airport. In May 2019, a special flight had brought back 320 Pakistanis stranded in Malaysia mainly due to the closure of eastern airspace of Pakistan for foreign airlines. The flight landed at the Islamabad International Airport at 10.10pm, over 45 minutes behind the schedule, as their friends and relatives sitting on the floor waited for the deportees. Some of the Pakistanis brought back to Islamabad on the special flight were detained by the Malaysian authorities as their tickets expired after the closure of Pakistan airspace.