A schoolboy stuck thousands of miles away from his family for almost two months will be home within a fortnight, it has emerged.
Osama Sattar, nine, was not allowed to leave Pakistan, where he had been attending his uncle's wedding, because he did not have a British passport.
The Home Office has issued an emergency passport and the boy's parents have booked his flight home on 31 May.
Osama had travelled to Pakistan on his mother Rubina's passport.
His mother and two younger brothers were able to return to their home in Dundee but Osama had to stay and has not seen his parents since 22 March.
"We are delighted he will be coming home soon - we are missing him terribly"
However, the Home Office has arranged for the passport to be sent to the British High Commission in Islamabad by diplomatic bag, said Dundee West MP Jim McGovern.
Osama's father Abdul said he was desperate to get him back to Britain.
Emotional homecoming
Mr McGovern praised the Home Office for its action in the case, adding: "Officials at the Foreign Office have confirmed that they will do all they can to get (the passport) there within the next seven days"
The MP said: "This has been a long ordeal for the family. This situation should never have come about but I hope that this will now be the end of it."
Mr Sattar, 46, who has lived in Dundee since 1971, said his son was currently staying with his brother-in-law in the city of Multan.
He said: "We have booked a place for him on a flight which gets into Glasgow on May 31.
"We are delighted he will be coming home soon - we are missing him terribly."
Osama, who had travelled on his mother's passport three times was, stopped at passport control as he and his family tried to return home.
Mr Sattar said he had been the victim of identity theft and it was for that reason that Osama was refused a British passport when the rest of his family applied.
Mrs Sattar did not have full British citizenship when Osama was born, but did by the time she had her two younger children.
This left her son in limbo where he could not return on a Pakistani passport but UK immigration authorities said he was not entitled to a British passport.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)