Opposition slams govt for not evacuating Pakistanis from coronavirus-hit China

Opposition demands that a special plane be sent to evacuate stranded Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: Opposition lawmakers in the upper house of parliament on Friday criticised the government’s decision of not evacuating the Pakistani citizens from virus-hit China during a session dominated by a heated debate on the outbreak of coronavirus in the neighbouring country.

The criticism came a day after the government announced it would not evacuate the Pakistanis from China in the larger interest of “the world, the region and the country”, while the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency as Beijing reported that the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infected.

The senators, including Sherry Rehman, Sirajul Haq, Rehman Malik, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Mushahidullah Khan, Usman Kakar, Bahramand Tangi and others, expressed solidarity with China and praised Beijing for its prompt action to contain the spread of the virus.

Mushahidullah Khan of the PML-N pointed out that the many Pakistanis students were studying in China and that their families at home are worried. “Mothers of the Pakistani students, studying in China, are upset and crying,” he told the house. “It is wrong when the government said it will not bring Pakistanis back to the country.”
He was also critical of the government for not taking any “protective measures” to fight the disease, if it broke out in the country. “Up till now, the government has not taken any protective measures that could help fight the disease. We try to stay away from important issues,” he added.

On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq expressed optimism about defeating coronavirus soon however, he called on the authorities to establish information centres across the country to create awareness about the disease among the masses. He also requested the government to bring the Pakistani citizens back from China.



Senator Rehman Malik of the PPP, suggested that a special plane should be sent to China to evacuate the stranded Pakistanis. If there is a risk of the virus spreading in Pakistan, he added, the repatriated Pakistanis should be screened before they were allowed to go home.

Malik’s views were echoed by Senator Sherry Rehman, who also urged the government to take appropriate precautionary steps. “Protecting citizens is the prime responsibility of any country.

The government should order kits for diagnosing coronavirus as the screening at airports is not helping us to diagnose cases,” she added.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani remarked that China is a friend of Pakistan. If the house health committee desired it could send Pakistani experts to help the neighbouring country fight the disease. "If China needs, Pakistani experts can help," he offered.

Pakistan won’t evacuate citizens from China

Winding up the debate, Leader of House Shibli Faraz told the lawmakers that the government was monitoring the situation. He stressed that the government was taking every possible measures to help the Pakistani citizens stranded in the country.

Following a heated debate, the session was adjourned till February 3.

Deportation from Saudi Arabia
Earlier, during the question hour, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the house that 285,980 Pakistanis had been deported from Saudi Arabia in the last five years for a variety of reasons, including 11,284 from Riyadh and another 24,533 from Jeddah during 2019.
In a written reply to a question from Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, he said the reasons for the deportation included expiry of resident cards, absconding, overstaying, border crossing from neighbouring countries, engaging in work or overstaying Umrah visa, working in fields other than designated professions, Hajj without permission, theft, narcotics, quarrelling and ethical cases.

In 2015, 10,826 Pakistanis were deported from Riyadh and 51,107 from Jeddah. In 2016, 6,662 Pakistanis were deported from Riyadh and 65,932 from Jeddah, including cases of amnesty scheme. Likewise, 20,611 Pakistanis were deported from Riyadh and 36,336 from Jeddah during 2018.