(March 27, 2020)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on  Friday said not allowing Pakistanis stranded in foreign countries is cruelty.
All the forsaken Pakistanis should be brought back without further delay and allowed to go home after proper screening for coronavirus, he said.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the stranded Pakistanis are facing many difficulties as they are now short of money and their difficulties are increasing by every passing day.
The former minister noted that many countries are under lockdown, some have imposed curfew while the role of some of our embassies is far from satisfactory.
The welfare of people is the responsibility of the government which should not be ignored anymore, he said, adding that Pakistan stopped air operations of March 21 but later announced special flights for foreigners stranded in Pakistan.
If flights can be arranged for foreigners then why not for Pakistanis who can come back while these flights return, he asked.
Mian Zahid Hussain noted that coronavirus has damaged the global and local economy and the people living below the poverty line can be doubled in a short span. He said that the response of the government is not very encouraging as the current crisis is graver than the one world braved 12 years ago.
He said that the government has allocated Rs 350 billion for the poor which is highly insufficient. He said that petroleum prices have been slashed a little while the tariff of gas and electricity has been kept intact which is amazing.
