All Indians stranded in Pakistan finally return

Nagpur: On Saturday, the last batch of Indian nationals stranded in Pakistan crossed the border. The wait to reach home for over 40-odd from Maharashtra and 100 from Gujarat got longer at Amritsar. Residents of rest of the states went home in vehicles arranged by their state governments. Those from Maharashtra and Gujarat stayed back for seven days of quarantine in Amritsar. They have to undertake Covid tests before travelling further.
An official in the Amritsar district administration handling the transfer said state governments like Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana sent their vehicles and UP asked the Punjab government to make arrangement for its residents’ transport.
“This was line of directions sent by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to the concerned state governments. However, Maharashtra has advised Punjab government to keep its residents under quarantine for seven days. On reaching the state they will have to be home quarantined for remaining period. It’s the same for Gujarat too,” said the senior official requesting anonymity. There were just about five persons from Telangana and Tamil Nadu, so no transport was arranged for them.
Bringing back stranded Indians from Pakistan became a long-drawn affair. There were Vande Bharat flights to bring back Indians held up in other countries including Bangladesh but there none for Pakistan. There were 748 Indian nationals stranded there, including students from J&K and those on visit visas. Finally they were allowed to cross the border from June 25 to 27.
Deepak Bajaj, who had gone to Kashmore in Sindh lost his father during the trip. His father, Ashok Virumal Bajaj, a patient of Parkinson’s disease had gone to Pakistan to meet his brothers. Deepak who reached there on March 5 to bring back his father was stranded too.
“The wait got difficult after my father’s death. Each day was an ordeal. Finally I am back in India,” he told TOI, “We will be tested for Covid and then let go further.” Bajaj said while process was done quickly on Pakistani side, there was chaos on Indian side. There was no arrangement for water or food and it took an entire day to reach the hotel, he said.
Sanjay Bart from Amravati said a letter from the Member of Parliament Navnet Rena that he should be allowed to go did not help though he was happy he could finally reach India.
“I had gone to Pakistan after 20 years and got stranded. On coming back, there were no porters even to help the elderly,” said Mahesh Chawla from Ahmedabad.
“The people were in a hurry to reach their homes and did not follow instructions well leading to chaos” said a Punjab government official.