Pakistani workers look for alternative ways to reach Gulf countries

Pakistani workers look for alternative ways to reach Gulf countries

This image has been used for illustrative purposes.

Gulf Today Report

 

As most of the flights from Pakistan to the Gulf countries are suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistanis are exploring  alternative routes so that they could rejoin their duties there.

 

Several Gulf countries have imposed strict travel restrictions to stop spread of the virus that has claimed at least 3,704,003 lives across the world. 

 

Surprisingly, Kabul  has become an unlikely pandemic transit route for Pakistanis desperate to reach Saudi Arabia despite deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

 

Thousands of Pakistani workers are hoping to reach the kingdom after spending two weeks in Kabul.

 

"I'm a little bit worried,“ said Sohaib Siddiqui, a 31-year-old electrical engineer from Lahore, in line at the Afghanistan embassy in Islamabad.

 

But he added that he was "willing to take risks,“ explaining that a job in Saudi Arabia would allow him to send between Rs50,000 and Rs100,000 a month to his family of three.

 

The Gulf countries have long been a vital avenue of employment for Pakistanis, who send back billions of dollars in remittances every year, propping up the cash-strapped economy.

 

In the past month alone, tens of thousands of Pakistanis have applied for transit visas at the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, according