Islamabad, June 26 (IANS) A total of 97,393 Pakistani nationals stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been repatriated, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan started repatriation of its nationals in March in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from different parts of the world, reports Xinhua news agency.

"As of June 24, a total of 97,393 Pakistani nationals have been repatriated," Ministry spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Thursday.

Giving a break-up at her weekly briefing in Islamabad, Farooqui said during the past few days, 3,976 nationals returned from Saudi Arabia, 2,231 from the United Arab Emirates and 263 from Iraq.

A special cell namely the Crisis Management Unit is working at the Ministry round the clock with a dedicated team to monitor the phased repatriation of Pakistanis across the globe in the wake of the rising threat of COVID-19.

As of Friday, Pakistan has reported 192,970 COVID-19 cases, with 3,962 deaths.

--IANS ksk/