1814 Pakistani citizens in Iran return to Pakistan: Chagai officials

CHAGAI: Local administration on Sunday announced that 1814 Pakistani citizens have also returned from Iran to the border district as hostilities in the region are growing worse.

So far, 428 pilgrims, 655 students and 566 tourists, 160 deportees, and five foreign nationals have also returned from Iran, officials of the border district of Chagai added.

District officials reported that 112 tourists and 24 students arrived at the Taftan border. All the facilities being offered to the returning Pakistani citizens from the neighboring country, the deputy commissioner of Chagai added.

Earlier, according to Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, 450 Pakistani pilgrims repatriated from Iran,  
Ishaq Dar, in a tweet, stated that measures are being taken for the return of the Pakistani students residing in Iran.

DPM also stated that Pakistan’s embassy in Baghdad has remained in touch with the stranded Pakistani pilgrims in Iraq. He added measures being taken for the safe residence of Pakistani pilgrims and their return home, who have been stranded in Iraq due to the closure of the airspace in the country.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) launched a special operation to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in Iran during the Israel-Iran conflict.

A PIA flight left from Peshawar to Ashgabat, the capital city of Turkmenistan, last Tuesday to carry out the evacuation.

With the help of the Pakistani embassy, 150 Pakistanis were evacuated from the Iranian city of Mashhad to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

These people, who were stranded due to the shutdown of Iranian airspace, will be brought back home through a special PIA flight from Ashgabat.

In compliance with government instructions, PIA has stated that more special flights will be planned to facilitate the safe evacuation of further stranded nationals.