Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has urged the Government of India to operate direct flights from UAE and Saudi Arabia to Srinagar in order to shift the stranded residents of J&K to their homes. In a statement issued here, Bukhari said there are around a 1000 residents of J&K who are stuck in Dubai and similarly, around 700 people from J&K are unable to return their homes from Saudi Arabia because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"These stranded people including businessmen, employees and labourers have already submitted their travel details to Indian Embassy in both the countries and are waiting for help. I solicit personal intervention of the Union Home Minister to order operationalization of direct flights from Dubai and Saudi Arabia to Srinagar so that these helpless citizens are able to return to their homes without any further delay," Bukhari demanded.

He said that hundreds of J&K residents, mostly students are stuck in Germany, Netherland, France, Spain, Ukraine, Thailand, Turkey and Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Moscow and are waiting for evacuation by their respective Indian embassies. "While it is highly appreciable that special flights were operated to evacuate J&K students from Daka-Bangladesh, the same facility be extended to other J&K residents who are stuck up in other countries as soon as possible," Bukhari demanded.

The JKAP president also demanded that all J&K residents who are evacuated from different countries be kept under quarantine in their home State and not delay their return by subjecting them to this mandatory process in New Delhi.

He urged the Lt Governor GC Murmu to order evacuation of labourers, tourists and traders of different states of the country who are stranded in various parts of J&K. He also demanded evacuation of residents of J&K who are stranded in Ladakh.