ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: 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 (NCV).

However, a Pakistani student has returned from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the NCV outbreak, on his own and has said 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 on Thursday, claimed that the government was considering bringing Pakistani citizens back from China.

The outbreak of NCV began in Wuhan city of China. As the mortality rate, in confirmed cases, is around three per cent so panic has been triggered across the globe.

Govt mulls measures against deadly coronavirus as a student returns home from Wuhan

Speaking at a press conference, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that so far 7,831 cases of NCV had been confirmed in 15 countries and 170 deaths reported.

“There is no confirmed case in Pakistan. Four Pakistani citizens have been infected with the virus in China but they have been improving. Moreover they [the Chinese authorities] have requested Pakistan not to share their identity and details of their families in Pakistan,” he said.

“The WHO has advised all member states i.e. 194 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 policy of China. We don’t want to take any step in haste but we are ensuring that proper treatment and care is provided to Pakistanis,” the SAPM said.

Dr Mirza, who was accompanied by Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, said that though videos were being shared on social media that Pakistanis wanted to return but he also had watched a number of videos in which Pakistanis were 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 NCV Emergency Operation Centre was held every 48 hours, he said.

Replying to a question, Dr Mirza said that soon a helpline would be established for public awareness and pamphlets, on which precautionary measures were mentioned in Urdu, English and Chinese, were 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 was considering bringing diplomats and their families back, Ms Farooqui said that the Foreign Office was not focusing on diplomats and their families. “We are focusing on Pakistani citizens living in China.”

On the other hand, responding to a calling attention notice at the National Assembly, Shafqat Mahmood claimed that the government was considering bringing back Pakistani students from Wuhan.

The issue was raised by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNAs Fazal Mohammad Khan, Ehsan Ullah Tiwana and Sher Akbar Khan.

Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas said that Pakistan Embassy in China had established a round-the- clock hotline to coordinate 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 were studying in various universities of China of whom 500 to 800 were in Wuhan. She said that the Chinese government was 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 were also being provided online food delivery facility in the university.

Replying a question, Ms Farooqui said that presently relocation of students from Wuhan was 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.

PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that he was in contact with the students in China. “A student, Furqan Rauf, has told me that his four friends have been infected with 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.

Pakistani student returns

A Pakistani student has returned home from Wuhan after being trapped in NCV-hit city where he said more than 500 countrymen, including women and children, were waiting for government assistance to return.

Arsalan Ameen, a student of University of Wuhan, told media on Thursday that he landed in Karachi on Jan 28 after a lethargic 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.”

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2020