KARACHI: At least 250 Pakistani inmates arrived at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore from Malaysia on board a Malaysian airline flight on Sunday, ARY News reported.
All the prisoners were shifted to quarantine facilities after screening for the novel coronavirus at the airport.
The Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has been making efforts to secure the release of Pakistanis languishing in jails in Malaysia. The release of the 250 inmates is the fruition of these efforts.
Pakistani High Commissioner Amina Baloch said three flights will repatriate Pakistani inmates from Malaysia before Eidul Fitr.
Read More: 94 inmates test positive for COVID-19 in Punjab jails
Earlier, on May 12, as many as 250 Pakistanis stranded in Malaysia due to COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of airlines operations had returned to homeland via a special flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
According to a spokesperson of PIA, a special flight of the national flag carrier PK-895 brought the stranded countrymen from Kuala Lumpur to Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar. All the passengers were shifted to a quarantine facility established at a local hotel for screening and testing them for the COVID-19.
Read More: Pakistan reports 39 new COVID-19 deaths, cases cross 40,000
