Reply sought on plea to bring Pakistanis stranded in China

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought a reply from the federal government on a petition seeking directions to bring all Pakistanis stranded in China due to coronavirus outbreak back to the county.

Akhtar Ali Chattha, father of a student in China, approached the LHC, saying not only his son, Sohaib Chattha, but over 1,000 other Pakistani citizens had been stuck in China’s city of Wuhan where they had been confined to their living spaces due to the outbreak of coronavirus for the last one month. He stated that his son had strict instructions from his university and local administration to not leave his room but in very urgent situations, a preventive strategy called “quarantine” where movement is restricted in order to prevent spread of the disease. The petitioner argued that Pakistani students had not been provided with adequate medical facility and food. He said few students and professors of Agriculture University of China had been infected with the disease which increased the probability of the disease infecting Pakistani citizens.

He pleaded that almost all countries had evacuated their citizens from Wuhan city and other parts of China due to higher possibility of spreading the disease. The petitioner requested the court to order the ministry of foreign affairs to evacuate all Pakistani citizens from China without further delay. Justice Shahid Waheed heard the initial arguments and directed the federal government to furnish reply for a date to be fix by LHC registrar’s office.