Pakistan repatriates 97,393 nationals due to COVID-19: foreign ministry

File Photo: People prepare to seal an area after some people tested positive for COVID-19 in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on June 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

Pakistan said on Thursday that 97,393 nationals stranded abroad due to the outbreak of COVID-19 had been repatriated.

Pakistan started repatriation of its nationals in March in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from different parts of the world.

"As of June 24, 2020, a total of 97,393 Pakistani nationals have been repatriated," spokesperson of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aisha Farooqui said.

Giving a break-up at her weekly briefing in Islamabad, Farooqui said during the past few days, 3,976 nationals returned from Saudi Arabia, 2,231 from the United Arab Emirates and 263 from Iraq.

The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan said earlier that a special cell namely the Crisis Management Unit is working at the foreign ministry round the clock with a dedicated team to monitor the phased repatriation of Pakistanis across the globe in the wake of the rising threat of COVID-19.