Attari (Punjab) : As many as 179 Pakistan nationals, who were stranded in India due to COVID-19 lockdown, were repatriated via Attari-Wagah border on Wednesday.
“I came here (to India) three months back to my sister’s residence. Later, lockdown was announced and we were stranded here. Now we are going back to Pakistan and thank the Indian government. People of India, who are stranded in Pakistan, should also be allowed to come back here,” said a pakistani national who came to India with his wife and daughter.
His wife said, “We reached India on February 26 and came here for 45 days. We are happy to go back to Pakistan now. I came to India along with my husband and my daughter.”
Another Pakistani national, who came to India on March 8 said, “I was stranded in India due to lockdown. I want to thank the governments of India and Pakistan for helping me out. Now I am really happy that I will get to see my family members after a long time.”
A woman, who came to meet her sister in Delhi, said that lockdown was imposed 10 days after she came to India.
“I had come here for 15 days only, but now it’s been around three months now. Now, I am happy to go back to Pakistan. I thank the Prime Ministers of both countries.”
Initially, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown on March 24 as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The fourth phase of the lockdown is slated to end on May 30 (Sunday). (ANI)
