A cargo plane of Qatar Airways carrying the bodies of 16 Pakistanis had reached Lahore, 24NewsHD reported on Saturday.

These bodies were first transported from France, the US, Oman, Kuwait and Greece to Doha, Qatar, from where the cargo aircraft shifted these to Pakistan.

The heirs had reached the Allama Iqbal International Airport to collect the remains which would be handed over after necessary documentation.

On the other hand, Special Assistant to the PM on National Security Moeed Yusuf said over 0.1 million stranded Pakistanis wanted to return to Pakistan from 88 countries.

Out of these, over 15,000 Pakistanis would be airlifted from Saudi Arabia.

He told a press conference in Islamabad that over 15,000 Pakistanis had so far been repatriated from other countries.

Separately, Moeed in a tweet said the government was able to plan the return of 227 Pakistanis from India despite the lockdown there thanks to the tireless efforts especially of the Foreign Office.

Preparations were being made to have them cross over from Wagah this week, he said, adding that 46 Pakistanis had been brought back earlier.

https://twitter.com/YusufMoeed/status/1256490720858460161

The government was facing severe criticism for its failure to ensure the return of Pakistanis who are stranded across the globe due to the lockdown imposed after the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

But since then a special operation has been launched for the stranded Pakistanis as special flights are being operated to and from different countries.