ISLAMABAD: IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah during a hearing today, Tuesday, directed the government to re-think its decision to not repatriate Pakistani citizens stranded in virus-hit China.
“Bringing back citizens will affect relations with any country” is no explanation, the judge remarked.
“When Bangladesh has brought back its students from China, what is stopping Pakistan from doing the same?”
Responding to the IHC chief justice’s remarks, a health ministry representative said Bangladesh had reversed its decision to repatriate citizens, adding that only 23 out of 194 countries had evacuated their citizens from China. The official added that the decision to keep Pakistani citizens in China had been taken to control the spread of the virus in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the court that the Chinese ambassador had assured Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that Pakistani citizens in Wuhan were being taken care of.
“We asked the Chinese government to allow our ambassador into Wuhan but they have responded that they don’t want to take any risks,” the foreign ministry official said.
Justice Minallah said the court wanted the state to take responsibility of its citizens. In reply, the foreign ministry representative said the ministry was monitoring the situation and will take decisions in the best interest of the students and the country.
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