The solemn and unheard requests of the Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan have been heard.
The Abdul Sattar Edhi Foundation has initiated the step to evacuate them by arranging chartered flights.
The Edhi Foundation has written a letter to Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Seeking to help the Pakistani students, when the government has somewhat abandoned them.
source: dawn
Request To Evacuate The Students
The letter to the officials from Edhi states that the representatives of the organization have been in touch with the students. The students stranded there are “mentally disturbed and in stress”. Moreover, they are also facing an acute food shortage. However, some of them are not subjected to the virus, which raises the probability of helping them to come home to Pakistan.
“The Pakistani students are in our contact and we want them to evacuate from China,” Faisal Edhi, managing trustee of the charity writes in the letter. “Upon the government’s permission, Edhi Foundation can contact airlines and arrange chartered flights to evacuate the students at the earliest,” he added.
At this time, the epicenter of the new Coronavirus, Wuhan, has claimed over 800 lives and affected more than 37,000 people so far. Subsequently, the city has been under lockdown since January 23. Earlier, some flights had returned from China to Pakistan after the Coronavirus outbreak.
In contrary to that, the letter emphasizes that there are countries that have already evacuated their citizens from Wuhan. Countries including America, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and India. Moreover, the countries are taking precautionary measures such as quarantining on their own.
Through the letter, Faisal Edhi also puts light on the fact that how other countries have helped their citizens out. He also requests the officials to identify areas where these homecoming students will be quarantined.
source: dawn
Fate Of The Pakistani Students
However, despite all the requests made, the fate of the Pakistani students in Wuhan has not been so good. The Ambassador of Pakistan to the People’s Republic of China, Naghmana Hashmi, released his statement earlier on Sunday.
The statement from the envoy pointed out that, a senior health official in Islamabad declared that the government cannot bring its citizens despite multiple requests from the students and their families for immediate evacuation. He pointed out that they could not reach the stranded Pakistani students due to the lack of permission.
Apart from all that, Dr. Zafar Mirza, who is Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health issues, has released his statement regarding the matter.
210/ My very dear students in China & ur respectable family members, v r intensely discussing the situation @ highest level & will make the best decision in view of all factors with ref to devastating #coronavirus potential global pandemic. Rest assured you are our own & we care!
— Zafar Mirza (@zfrmrza) February 9, 2020
“My very dear students in China & ur respectable family members, v r intensely discussing the situation @ highest level & will make the best decision in view of all factors with ref to devastating #coronavirus potential global pandemic. Rest assured you are our own & we care!” tweeted Dr. Zafar Mirza on assuring the students and their families.
