Thousands of Pakistanis lose jobs in UAE amid coronavirus panic

• More than 10,000 of those who registered claimed that they needed to leave because they had lost their jobs, informed envoy.
• The UAE has ramped up lockdowns and other measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the emirates.

Over 10,000 Pakistani nationals working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have lost their jobs, owing to economic uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The figures were collected from those Pakistanis who have registered to travel back to Pakistan amid the coronavirus concerns, informed Ahmed Amjad Ali, Consul General of Pakistan to Dubai.

“We had asked the citizens to mention the reason why they should be given preference to travel back to Pakistan once special flights were arranged. More than 10,000 of those who registered claimed that they needed to leave because they had lost their jobs. Some of them may be going on unpaid leaves, but we are still trying to assess that,” he said, quoted Arab News.

The envoy informed that some 35,000 Pakistanis have registered with the consulate in Dubai in order to return to their homeland.

The UAE has ramped up lockdowns and other measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the emirates, to date over 2,900 cases have been reported in the UAE with 14 deaths recorded due to the virus.

It may be mentioned here that UAE is one of the preferred job destinations for Pakistan, with over 1.2 million Pakistani nationals living and working in the country.