Pakistan govt allows repatriation of 748 stranded Indians from June 25 via Wagah border

In a major reprieve to the 748 Indians who have been stuck in Pakistan amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Pakistan government on Friday has issued an order allowing their repatriation. The order states that the individuals will be allowed to pass to India via the Wagah border on June 25,26 and 27. The order states that the Indians will be sent in three batches with the first two comprising of 250 individuals each, while the last batch comprising of 248 individuals.

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Pakistan allows repatriation of 748 Indians

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Indian High commission tells travellers to prepare

On June 15, the Indian High Commission based in Islamabad told stranded Indians in Pakistan to prepare for their return on June 23, as per reports.  As of date, 748 Indians belonging from Punjab, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have been stuck in Pakistan due to closure of borders by India and Pakistan. Several Indians stuck in Pakistan had reached out to the Centre, requesting to arrange for their return.

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India's Vande Bharat

On May 7, the Centre launched the Vande Bharat mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad amid Coronavirus global lockdown via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. This facility is available on payment-basis - almost 4 lakh people from 98 countries have registered to come back till date. Till date, around over 1 lakh Indians have returned to India from abroad via Vande Bharat while 1.5 lakhs have returned via domestic & foreign charters, naval ships & through land borders, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. While earlier only Air India was operating flights previously, now private airlines GoAir, Indigo and Vistara too have commenced operations, presumably ending the government air carrier's monopoly. 

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The Centre has announced that the nationwide- Coronavirus lockdown has been extended in containment zones till June 30, 2020. The Centre has also announced that the re-opening of the areas outside containment zones will be done in three phases. As per the new guidelines, night curfew timings have been amended to 9:00 PM to 5 AM throughout the nation, except for essential services. India's active cases stand at 1,63,248, recovered cases at 2,04,710 with 12,573 fatalities.