Our country cannot disown its own citizens during the process
JOHI: The dangerous coronavirus has claimed more than 1,300 precious lives and infected 44,000 people in China. The disease is furiously spreading beyond its borders. Dozens of countries have evacuated their people from China and have banned the entry of Chinese people into their homeland, suspending scheduled flights to and from China. Surprisingly, Pakistan is one of the few countries that decided not to evacuate its citizens stranded in China. The fear of the spread of the virus in Pakistan with the arrival of students from China might be the reason for not evacuating Pakistanis from there as the country has the second worst record of overcoming outbreaks in the world. However, in the views of seasoned analysts, Pakistan seems to be exaggerating the situation at the cost of students’ lives. I think such an un-calculated risk should not be taken. The Pakistani government needs to understand that China needs doctors who could help stop the novel virus, not the infected people. These people could prove to be a burden to a country that has to take care and treat of thousands of natives. Our country cannot disown its own citizens during the process.
Mehboob Ali Laghari
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2020.
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