PIA special plane airlifts 206 stranded Pakistanis from Shanghai

BEIJING: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) special flight carrying 206 standard Pakistanis left Shanghai, China for Karachi on Tuesday.

These Pakistani nationals were stranded in different areas in Shanghai and other cities due to flight cancellations and lockdowns amid Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi said in a tweet here.

It was the second flight during the past two weeks. Earlier, on May 19, a total of 274 Pakistanis, mostly students, returned to Pakistan from Wuhan, the city hit hard by novel coronaviurs in China.

Another PIA's special flight is likely to arrive at Wuhan on June 5 to repatriate next batch of Pakistani students.

After arriving in Pakistan, all the passengers will be subject to relevant procedures for containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Consul General, Pakisstan Consulate Shanghai, Hussain Haider who saw off the passengers told China Economic Net that the return of Pakistanis was the first priority of the government and Pakistan Embassy. "We are thankful to the Chinese government who took care of our citizens like their own during the epidemic."

The Consulate also reviewed the steps taken at the airport to protect passengers from any harm of the virus. The returning Pakistanis thanked the Pakistan government for arranging their repatriation to the homeland. "Thank you everyone who worked for us, we are thankful to everyone who has consumed his precious time for us," said a passenger, Abdul Qadir.

Another, passenger Qazi Sanaullah said the Chinese government helped them and treated them like their own people. "We did not face any problem in boarding. It was very smooth and easy and before purchasing ticket it was mandatory for the passengers to confirm that Corona test results were negative," he added.

Earlier, the PIA's special flight landed at the airport in Shanghai at 3:00 pm local time, carrying Pakistan embassy officials who were granted special permission to come back to China.

It may be noted that, PIA was granted special permission by the Chinese concerned authorities to operate special flight to Shanghai to repatriate Pakistani citizens.