Over 50 Pakistani passengers travelling from Madinah Munawwarah to Dubai via Kuwait have been stranded at Kuwait International Airport for the past two days.
According to the 24News HD TV channel, the stranded passengers are in distress as the foreign airline--Al-Jazeera--has accommodated Indian and Nepali passengers in hotels, but Pakistanis have been left at the airport.
Pakistani passengers told the media that they had only been provided with food twice during their two-day ordeal. They said they had travelled to Saudi Arabia from Dubai through Al-Jazeera Airways for the Umrah pilgrimage. After completing their Umrah, they were flying from Madinah to Dubai via Kuwait but due to a storm in Dubai, their flight was halted at Kuwait airport.
Pakistani passengers said that the airline had not treated them well during the two-day stay at the airport. Pakistani passengers including women, children, and sick passengers are forced to sleep on the airport floor.
They informed that the staff of Jazeera Airways separated the Pakistani passengers from other passengers after collecting their passports and later, halted them at the airport. While passengers from other countries were provided hotel accommodations, they said adding that the Pakistanis are being treated poorly at the airport.
They also claimed that officials from the Pakistani Consulate in Kuwait are not responding to their phone calls or providing any assistance.
They appealed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take immediate steps to repatriate the stranded Pakistanis from Kuwait Airport.
Reporter: Shahrukh Shah