As many as 174 Pakistani students were repatriated to the country from Wuhan and Hubei province on Monday. A first special flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from China transported Pakistani nationals back home.
The returning students have been studying in several universities of Wuhan and Hubei and continued staying in China after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan's Embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Monday. The Pakistani students were flown to Islamabad International Airport via a special flight of the PIA.
In view of the disruption of commercial night operations, it was PIA's first special flight from China to transport Pakistani nationals back home.
On the instruction of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan's Embassy in China had shortlisted passengers with urgent travel requirements for early return.
It stated that during the state visit of President Arif Alvi to Beijing on 16-17 March, the president and the foreign minister had held a tele-conference with Pakistani students and assured to bring them back to Pakistan at an opportune time.
It added that the embassy remained in close contact with the students in Wuhan and Hubei, and sent a two-member task force to facilitate and assist them.
Special arrangements were made by the Embassy of Pakistan for the flight operation due to the prevalent quarantine requirements and ongoing testing of all inhabitants of Wuhan city.
It further stated that a special unit of four embassy officers was constituted to liaison with the PIA, relevant Chinese departments and Pakistani students for finalising the arrangement of flight operations.
Embassy also dispatched one of its officers to Wuhan for overseeing the flight arrangements.
All passengers upon arriving in Pakistan would be subject to relevant procedures of Government of Pakistan for containing the spread of the disease, it added.
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