8 Oman expatriate Bangladeshis return from Pakistani jail

A total of eight Bangladeshi Oman expatriates detained in Pakistan have finally returned home after one and a half years.
 
An Emirates Airlines flight carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday night.
 
All of these returning Bangladeshis are hailing from Noakhali district.

They are- Md Shahid, Md Yusuf, Mohammad Khan, Md Sharif, Md Shahraj, Md Nabir, Abul Kashem and Delwar.
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Expatriate Welfare Desk of BRAC provided emergency services including providing food and drinking water, psychosocial counselling and escorting them to their homes, according to Shariful Hasan, head of BRAC's immigration programme.
 
In May 2019, while they were fishing in the Arabian Sea adjacent to Oman, Pakistani Coast Guard held them as their fishing boat plunged into the country's water territory in the Arab sea.
 
According to a press release issued by the foreign ministry on 23 December, the government approved travel expenses including airfare considering their financial status to bring them back to the country as soon as possible.

The Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi ensured the repatriation of the eight Bangladeshi prisoners through constant communication with the Sindh Home Ministry, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry and Malir's prison authorities.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) co-operated in the repatriation process.

Earlier, 29 Bangladeshi nationals were released from Malir and Karachi jails of Pakistan.