ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that bringing stranded Pakistanis back to their homeland was government's top priority.

He chaired a high-level meeting at the foreign ministry in Islamabad to discuss the situation arising from Coronavirus outbreak when Hundreds of Pakistanis in transit were left stranded at airports across the world after the country sealed its borders to prevent imported virus cases.

“We discussed phase wise repatriation of Pakistanis from different countries of the world and our top most priority are those who are stranded at different airports,” Qureshi said.

Pakistan suspended all incoming international flights on March 22 as part of sweeping measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Qureshi said that a crisis management cell had been established at the ministry of foreign affairs which was in touch with the Pakistani embassies in the world. "We have the exact number of Pakistanis abroad.”

The minister added that set safety protocol will be followed for all the passengers, as was seen last week for the flight coming from Thailand.

“All the 170 passengers of special flight from Thailand were tested and all of them were found negative. We have to ensure provision of quarantine and other medical facilities for the coronavirus positive people at airports,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by the Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Special Assistant for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari, Special Assistant for National Security Dr Moeed Yousuf, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood, Secretary of Aviation Division Hasan Nasir Jami, senior officials of foreign ministry and military officials.

The spokesperson of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Abdullah Hafeez, said the national carrier had received government's nod to start limited flights for repatriation of Pakistanis stuck abroad.

“The government has allowed PIA to resume partial flight operations,” Hafeez told Arab News on Wednesday.

In the first phase, flights will operate to Canada and United Kingdom from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, he said.

“A limited number of passengers will be brought back in the first phase so that they can be tested for COVID-19 according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) capability,” Hafeez said. 

Two chartered flights carrying 400 passengers, including the Canadian High Commission staff, will set off for Toronto from Islamabad International Airport on Thursday, he informed. 

“The regular flight operation for Toronto will resume on April 3 while for United Kingdom, it will start from April 4,” he said.

The spokesperson added that on the way back, all flights will land only at Islamabad airport where passengers will be kept in quarantine for six hours in different hotels until the results of their coronavirus tests arrive. 

“The passengers with negative reports will be allowed to leave for their homes with NIH guidelines and COVID-19 positive passengers will be taken to quarantine centers for further treatment,” Hthe official said.

He added that passengers would be able to book the tickets from PIA website and require to wear mask without which they would not be allowed to board the plane. 

"PIA staff has been given special training to ensure their safety and all aircrafts would be disinfected after each travel,” the spokesman said.