Pakistan government has dispatched halal food and medicine to around 1,300 Pakistani students in China’s Wuhan region and a court on Friday asked the worried parent to have confidence in the state regarding the safety and well-being of their children.

The decision of sending food from Pakistan was taken after the students conveyed to Pakistani authorities that they were having difficulties in getting halal food in Wuhan.

Wuhan is the Chinese province which emerged as the epicentre of the coronavirus, but the measures taken by the Chinese authorities have controlled the situation so much so that the country reported zero new infections for two consecutive days.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development released the funds for the provision of food and medicines, which is being delivered by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

NDMA has sent a special plane carrying 17 tonnes of supplies. On its way back, the same plane will bring supplies to contain the coronavirus in Pakistan.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Bukhari said that the supplies include cooked food sufficient to last 15 days for all the students in Wuhan. He said the ration being sent is for almost 1300 students and include edibles as well as everyday use items.

He also tweeted a photo of the supplies that have been sent to Wuhan.
https://twitter.com/sayedzbukhari/status/1240853571027034114

Court hearing

Hearing a case related to the repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in China, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah asked the parents of Pakistani students stranded in China to trust the state, which he said was taking the right measures for the safety of its citizens.

High-level officials from the Foreign Ministry and Cabinet Division presented the government’s response on the issue, as ordered by the court.

Foreign Ministry Director-General (China) Mudassir Tipu shared in the court that things are improving in China following the initial outbreak and the situation will improve further in the next couple of weeks.

He also confirmed that a plane carrying food items and medicines had already been dispatched to China. He further said the government has provided cash grants to 95 percent of the Pakistani students residing in China.

When the parents of the stranded students complained that the government had not taken any measures to bring back their children.

CJ Minallah said the most important thing is that the students are much safer in China as they would have been at greater risk in Pakistan.

“The US and the UK have acknowledged after taking back their citizens that they did the wrong thing,” he noted.

“The only success story in the world right now in the fight against coronavirus is the one demonstrated by China,” he further said.

The judge said that the court would be wrapping up the case and that the worried parents should trust the state in the matter. He noted that the National Security Committee is also looking into the issue.

The parents, however, pleaded that the case not be concluded but kept in a pending state.