Govt to send aid, food to 1,300 Pakistani students stranded in China

ISLAMABAD: The government on Sunday announced it would send aid to the Pakistani students stuck in China's Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic that has left over 5,800 dead around the world and infected more than 156,000, for another 15 days.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development said the aid would be sent to almost 1,300 students who were forced to stay back due to a lockdown imposed in Wuhan in a bid to stop the pandemic from spreading. The aid includes food items and other basic necessities.

The whole world has been impacted by the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development, Zulfi Bukhari, said. "Aid to overseas Pakistanis is our top priority and we are in touch with the Chinese government in this regard," he added.

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"We have promised the parents of Pakistani students stranded in China that we will take care of them," Bukhari said.

Earlier, on Friday, the government’s lawyer informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah that an official visit of President Arif Alvi to China was on the cards. However, the final decision was yet to be taken, a foreign ministry official said.

'Precarious' situation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General added that the Pakistanis stuck in the Chinese province of Hubei would be compensated with cash grant. Upon hearing this, one of the students' mothers asked the official in tears not to give money and bring them back.

The proceedings were part of a petition filed by the parents of the students stranded in China to bring their kids back. During the hearing, one of the parents told the court that they have been informed there was a complete ban on the coverage of the disease in China.

To this, Justice Minallah remarked that the court could not intervene in other countries' policy matters. "The situation is so precarious that the US has imposed a ban on flights from Europe,” he said.

In a prior hearing, the court was informed that the federal cabinet would take a decision on the students stranded in China. "Some matters are not legal and the court cannot intervene in government policies," the IHC top judge told the parents.

However, the petitioner’s lawyer interjected, saying they were not asking for the court’s intervention in policy but were only seeking the court’s help in getting informed about the return of their children.

The judge then adjourned the hearing till March 20.