Dubai: Pakistan has deployed two-member special task force in Wuhan city — epicentre of Coronavirus — to assist Pakistani students confined in the locked down Chinese city.
Chinese authorities accepted special request by Pakistan and allowed the two officials from the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing to enter Wuhan to meet Pakistani students and assist them until the city of Wuhan remained locked down. The move came after parents of student launched protests in Pakistan demanding Prime Minister Imran Khan to bring back their children.
According to Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqi, the task force is permanently deployed in Wuhan to maintain close liaison with Chinese authorities. “The officers will return to Beijing once the lockdown in Wuhan is lifted, and situation is stabilised,” she tweeted on Tuesday.
The task force, which will coordinate with Chinese authorities, will be permanently deployed in Wuhan and will return to Beijing once the lockdown in Wuhan is lifted in its entirety and on-ground situation is completely stabilised”, a Foreign office statement said.
“Today, the two Foreign Office staffers visited Pakistani students in four universities and also met administrative staff in each university “to get first-hand information on the health and safety needs of the students,” according to the statement issued on Monday.
In the coming days, the officers will visit students in three other universities as well as the administrative staff in those universities to ensure the welfare of Pakistani students in Wuhan.
All Pakistani students in the universities that the officers have so far visited were “safe, healthy, and well-looked after. More than 500 Pakistani students are studying at various universities in Wuhan.
The Pakistan Ebassy has maintained a close liaison with Pakistani students and Chinese government at various tiers to provide assistance to Pakistani students.
Under the supervision of Ambassador of Pakistan in Beijing, an 11-member core group has been constituted to daily monitor the evolving situation and respond to queries/requests of Pakistani students.
