Govt told to review decision on students in China
IHC CJ says court can’t directly interfere in policy matter
Islamabad High Court. PHOTO PHOTO: IHC WEBSITE
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court on Saturday directed the government to reconsider its decision to turn down parents’ plea to evacuate Pakistani students them from China's coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition filed by parents on a court holiday because of the urgency of the matter.
The judge urged the federal cabinet to take the parents’ demands into consideration in its next meeting and inform the court about the decision on February 28.
“The government should not add to the woes of the parents by telling them that it won’t bring their children back,” he remarked.
The IHC chief justice also told the petitioners that the court could not directly interfere in a policy matter.
A lawyer informed the court that the parents were having difficulties in communicating with the students. Besides, he added, the students were also facing a food shortage.
He maintained that foreign ministry representatives went to China but did not meet the students.
IHC reserves decision on plea seeking details of steps taken to combat coronavirus
“During a meeting in Islamabad, parents were told that they their children could not be brought back,” he added.
The lawyer requested that the students stranded in Wuhan should at least be shifted to some place in China. “While an interior ministry representative said the parents had received a lot of phone calls [from students in Wuhan], only two telephone lines have been active for over a month,” he said.
The lawyer said the parents only wanted their children evacuated from Wuhan, even if they were kept on an island afterwards. He maintained that even Afghanistan and Nepal had pulled out their students.
“Is our capacity even less than that of Afghanistan? Our courts can remove a prime minister from his office but can do nothing for the parents?” he asked.
A foreign ministry representative told the court that the parents could approach them if any facility was not being provided in China.
Coronavirus: Pakistan suspends flight operations to China
“The Chinese government is taking a lot of steps in Wuhan and has assured us that it is taking care of Pakistani students as if they were its own.”
The IHC CJ directed that the letter written by the students in China to him should be presented before the federal cabinet.
Justice Minallah directed that the demands of the parents be submitted in writing to the federal cabinet in its next meeting. He directed the cabinet to reconsider its decision and satisfy the affected parents. The hearing was adjourned till February 28.
The Islamabad High Court on Saturday directed the government to reconsider its decision to turn down parents’ plea to evacuate Pakistani students them from China's coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition filed by parents on a court holiday because of the urgency of the matter.
The judge urged the federal cabinet to take the parents’ demands into consideration in its next meeting and inform the court about the decision on February 28.
“The government should not add to the woes of the parents by telling them that it won’t bring their children back,” he remarked.
The IHC chief justice also told the petitioners that the court could not directly interfere in a policy matter.
A lawyer informed the court that the parents were having difficulties in communicating with the students. Besides, he added, the students were also facing a food shortage.
He maintained that foreign ministry representatives went to China but did not meet the students.
IHC reserves decision on plea seeking details of steps taken to combat coronavirus
“During a meeting in Islamabad, parents were told that they their children could not be brought back,” he added.
The lawyer requested that the students stranded in Wuhan should at least be shifted to some place in China. “While an interior ministry representative said the parents had received a lot of phone calls [from students in Wuhan], only two telephone lines have been active for over a month,” he said.
The lawyer said the parents only wanted their children evacuated from Wuhan, even if they were kept on an island afterwards. He maintained that even Afghanistan and Nepal had pulled out their students.
“Is our capacity even less than that of Afghanistan? Our courts can remove a prime minister from his office but can do nothing for the parents?” he asked.
A foreign ministry representative told the court that the parents could approach them if any facility was not being provided in China.
Coronavirus: Pakistan suspends flight operations to China
“The Chinese government is taking a lot of steps in Wuhan and has assured us that it is taking care of Pakistani students as if they were its own.”
The IHC CJ directed that the letter written by the students in China to him should be presented before the federal cabinet.
Justice Minallah directed that the demands of the parents be submitted in writing to the federal cabinet in its next meeting. He directed the cabinet to reconsider its decision and satisfy the affected parents. The hearing was adjourned till February 28.