Jobless Pak expatriates desperate to return home

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Umar Frooq, a Pakistani expatriate in Sharjah is one of the few thousands residents who lost his job due to the pandemic situation by novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UAE.

Being stuck in their rented room the expatriates are facing multiple issues including empty pockets to buy anything to eat besides fearing of losing their only shelter as they are unable to pay the due rent in a few days.

“In this condition, we are waiting for a miracle of going back to our families waiting desperately for our safe and sound return. To use our all options like enrolling into the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai — also dealing expatriates from all Northern Emirates — as well as turned every stone to get help for the safe return to our families,” he said.

The consulate with the support of Government of Pakistan has initiated a number of special flights from Dubai to different cities to Pakistan. In this regard, the consulate had started registration of desperate community members to return their homes after the suspension of regular flights operation by all carriers.

The consulate have been giving priority to those who lost their jobs and those who were in the country on visit visas.

“We have lost our jobs and have already informed to the officials at the consulate and are still waiting for a positive response on the available seats in the special flights. Now the situation has reached an unbearable point as many of us are unable to pay our room rent and the landlord is threatening to throw our luggage outside,” he said.

Besides many desperate community members, Faroq also visited the consulate last week and spend over 3 hours outside to wait in a long queue. “The officials did not give us satisfactory answers on the upcoming flights schedule and availability of seats.”

However, the government of Pakistan last week announced relief in fares of special flights for the desperate community members who want to go back to Pakistan from around the world. But the announcements has hardly seen the day light as the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has issued a revised fare list.

According to the new fare list shared by the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai with the local media, the fare has been revised and divided into three categories of special flights for P (Dhs1900), Y (Dhs1550) and K (Dhs850).

Ashique Sheikh, Press Consular in Pakistan Consulate in Dubai while responding to Gulf Today added that these fares have included all taxes and the major proportion of seats have been allocated to K category which has the lowest fare, Dhs850 for one way ticket to Pakistan.