DHAKA, Dec 23, 2020 (BSS) – A total of 21 Bangladeshis released from Malir and Karachi jails of Pakistan arrived in the country this afternoon.
The flight No 638 of the Qatar Airways carrying 18 Bangladeshis landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 5.20pm, said an assistant secretary of the foreign ministry who has been assigned to coordinate the expatriate welfare related issues.
Three of the total 21 migrant workers arrived in the country earlier, he added.
The official, however, said eight more Bangladeshis freed from Malir jail of Pakistan under Sindh province are set to return home tomorrow with the funding of the foreign ministry.
The flight No EK-584 of the Emirates Airlines carrying the eight Bangladeshis is scheduled to land at the HSIA at 11am tomorrow, he added.
The eight expatriate Bangladeshi workers were legally employed in an Omani fishing boat while they were held by Pakistani coast guard in May 2019 for entering the Pakistani maritime boundary in the Arab sea due to strong tide, said a foreign ministry press release earlier here today.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen directly supervised the initiative of bringing them back to the country within the shortest possible time and approved their airfare and other expenses from the government fund considering their economic situation, the release said.
Bangladesh deputy high commission office in Karachi ensured the repatriation of the eight Bangladeshi workers by maintaining constant communications with the Ministry of Home Affairs of Sindh province, Foreign Affairs Ministry of Pakistan and jail authorities of Malir.
International Organisation for Migration and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society helped in their repatriation process.
According to the release, the repatriation of Bangladeshi citizen stranded in Pakistan resumed on November 25 after eight years under the initiative of the foreign ministry and recently five Bangladeshi citizens returned from Pakistan.
It said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its all-out efforts to ensure the safety and welfare of Bangladeshi expatriates worldwide.