As per guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and in the larger interest of the region and world, Pakistan has decided not to bring its citizens from China as it can become a reason for the spread of novel coronavirus (nCoV).
However, a Pakistani student has returned on his own from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the nCoV outbreak, has said that other countrymen are facing hard times there.
Though the United States has shifted its diplomats from China under the Vienna Convention, the Foreign Office of Pakistan says that it is not focusing on diplomats and their families in China.
However, federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, claimed that the government is considering bringing Pakistani citizens back from China.
The outbreak of nCoV began in Wuhan city.
As the mortality rate, in confirmed cases, is around 3%, panic has been triggered across the globe.
So far more than 10,000 cases of nCoV had been confirmed in 15 countries, with more than 210 deaths reported.
“There is no confirmed case in Pakistan,” said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza. “Four Pakistani citizens have been infected with the virus in China, but they have been improving.
“They [the Chinese authorities] have requested that Pakistan not to share their identity and details of their families in Pakistan,” he said.
“The WHO has advised all member states – 194 nations – that they should not evacuate their citizens from China.
“Moreover, China has been dealing with the issue remarkably, and it has also imposed ban on travelling outside the country, so Pakistan has decided to follow the Chinese policy.”
“We don’t want to take any step in haste, but we are ensuring that proper treatment and care is provided to Pakistanis,” Mirza said.
Mirza, who was accompanied by Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, said that although videos are being shared on social media showing that Pakistanis wanted to return, he had also seen a number of videos in which Pakistanis are saying that they did not want to return.
A core committee of top health hierarchy had been formed, that met every 24 hours, whereas a meeting of the nCoV Emergency Operation Centre was held every 48 hours, he said.
Replying to a question, Mirza said that soon a helpline would be established for public awareness and pamphlets – on which precautionary measures are mentioned in Urdu, English and Chinese – are being handed over to passengers at airports.
Answering another question, he said that only the United States had shifted its diplomats from China as the latter could not stop diplomats from leaving the country.
Asked if Pakistan is considering bringing diplomats and their families back, Farooqui said that the Foreign Office is not focusing on diplomats and their families. “We are focusing on Pakistani citizens living in China.”
On the other hand, responding to a call to attention notice at the National Assembly, Shafqat Mahmood claimed that the government is considering bringing back Pakistani students from Wuhan.
The issue was raised by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Fazal Mohamed Khan, Ehsan Ullah Tiwana, and Sher Akbar Khan.
Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas said that the Pakistan embassy in China has established a round-the-clock hotline to co-ordinate with Pakistani students in Wuhan.
“The government is also in contact with the families of the Pakistani students,” she said.
She said that about 28,000 Pakistani students are studying in various universities of China, of whom 500-800 are in Wuhan.
Abbas said that the Chinese government is providing food to students on daily basis, while the canteen in the university also opened for two hours every day for students.
She said that students are also being provided online food delivery facility in the university.
Replying a question, Farooqui said that presently the relocation of students from Wuhan is not possible as per the medical guidelines of the WHO.
She said that at this point, relocation would not benefit the students and their families and that as per the medical guideline, the residents in the affected province would have to stay there for 14 days.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that he is in contact with the students in China.
“A student, Furqan Rauf, has told me that his four friends have been infected with the virus, and no one is caring about them. Even people are not ready to shake hands with each other.
“I suggest that we should send an aeroplane there and bring Pakistani citizens back,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani student who has returned from Wuhan after being trapped in nCoV-hit city said that more than 500 countrymen, including women and children, are waiting for government assistance to return (see report above).
Arsalan Ameen, a student of the University of Wuhan, told media that he landed in Karachi on January 28 after a thorough procedure and strict medical checks, but other Pakistanis stranded in the city were not lucky enough.
“There are 569 Pakistanis in Wuhan right now,” he told reporters at his Lyari house. “In my university, there are 105 students, many of them enrolled in PhD programme. The situation is very critical there.
“People are in a state of panic and fear. The city has been locked down and the people cannot leave home.
“I went through multiple medical checks and investigation from the local authorities to reach Shanghai, from where I caught the flight to Pakistan.”