With the outbreak of the third wave of Covid-19 in the country, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have thanked Afghan citizens for entering their territory. However, according to reports, Afghan government officials have confirmed that flights between Kabul and Riyadh have been suspended for the past three days due to increased Covid-19 patients. Government officials have stressed that the trend has left at least 4,000 Pakistani passengers stranded in Kabul.

While Afghanistan is witnessing an increase in Covid-19 disease and its citizens’ deaths these days, many Pakistani workers traveling to Kabul from Kabul airport to Saudi Arabia were stranded at Kabul airport after being banned from flying to Saudi Arabia. According to a report by BBC Farsi: “Recently, several Pakistani workers flew to Kabul from Kabul airport to return to Saudi Arabia and return to Saudi Arabia via this route. “Corona was on Saudi Arabia’s list of red countries and no-fly zones. Most Saudi Arabia workers are Pakistani workers, who chose the Kabul route to travel to Saudi Arabia.”

“In recent days, thousands of passengers have come to Kabul from Islamabad to travel to Saudi Arabia via this route, but they have also been in a difficult situation due to the interruption of flights between Kabul and Jeddah. Countries from which travel to Saudi Arabia was not prohibited were required, but a document indicating a negative corona test was needed.”

On the other hand, Naeem Salehi, a spokesman for the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority, told the BBC that there was a daily flight between the two countries before that. He added that the flight had been suspended for three days. Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to prevent the spread of the corona, he said.

The Pakistani embassy in Kabul says several Pakistani nationals who came to Kabul from Islamabad to travel to Saudi Arabia are now forced to return due to flights between Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.

The Pakistani embassy put the number at 4,000 on its official Facebook and Twitter pages. The embassy added that the Pakistani embassy provided accommodation for these people at the embassy and provided transportation and cash assistance for their transfer to Pakistan. As a result, the Kabul route to Saudi Arabia by Pakistani citizens has been unprecedented in recent years.