Around 1,800 return via land routes

QUETTA: Amid tight security, Pakistani pilgrims, students and business people returning from Iran continued to pour into the provincial metropolis.

Officials said that Pakistanis were returning from different cities of Iran, starting from the first batch that reached Taftan via passenger coaches on Monday night.

Over the past three days, around 1,400 Pakistani pilgrim and some 400 students have crossed back, of whom 481 people who crossed via Taftan, reached Quetta on Thursday night.

“We are providing all facilities to the Pakistanis coming back to the country on their arrival at Taftan and shifting them in Pakistan House,” Assistant Commissioner Taftan Naeem Qasim Shahwani said.

The official said that on Wednesday, a convoy of five coaches carrying around 200 people arrived in Quetta from Taftan. Among them were 80 pilgrims and 120 students who had earlier reached Taftan by bus from Iran.

In Gwadar, the return of Pakistani citizens also continued through the Gabad-Rimdan crossing.

According to the Foreign Office, nearly 3,000 Pakistani nationals have already been evacuated from Iran via multiple routes.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025