ISLAMABAD:National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday allowed all Pakistanis stranded in Category C countries to return to the country until December 31 without requiring any exemption.
According to NCOC, Category C is a list of countries from which travel is banned, except under certain conditions. The countries currently on the Category C list are Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia.
The NCOC statement said that individuals with a valid National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or Pakistan Origin Card (POC) would be allowed to return as well. It said proof of vaccination and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report-maximum 48 hours old-would be required prior to boarding. Besides, mandatory quarantine will also remain in place for travelers from countries struck by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. It said since vaccinations for ages 15 to 18 had not started in some countries, the condition of mandatory full vaccination for that age group was being delayed to January 31 from Dec 1.
