ISLAMABAD: Over 15,000 Pakistani pilgrims who were on Umrah in Saudi Arabia when the coronavirus pandemic broke out have already been repatriated, as the kingdom continues to facilitate the return of foreigners to their respective countries, officials told Arab News on Friday.

A large number of international pilgrims found themselves stranded in Saudi Arabia after it suspended international flight operations on March 15 due to the outbreak.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has so far facilitated the return of 450,000 pilgrims, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday. Among the returnees,15,470 were Pakistani nationals.

“From March 15 till April 18, 2020, 15,470 Umrah pilgrims were repatriated from Saudi Arabia after the suspension of flight operations due to COVID-19,” the spokesman of the Pakistani Consulate General in Jeddah, Arshad Munir, told Arab News.

He explained that the special flights which since April 18 have been bringing other Pakistani nationals back home are for persons stranded in the kingdom not in relation to the pilgrimage.

According to SPA, over 60,000 pilgrims were sent back to their home countries on special flights during the recent five-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday, while another 40,000 were brought to Makkah from Madinah to complete their rituals.

Thousands of others who remain unable to return to their countries amid coronavirus lockdowns, have been hosted by the ministry, SPA said.

The SPA report noted that the suspension of Umrah and international flights would continue until further notice.