'Shame on You': Pakistanis Slam Govt for Refusing to Evacuate Nationals Amid Wuhan Virus Outbreak

As the second rescue flight for Indian nationals stuck in Wuhan reached Delhi on Sunday, Pakistani students were seen appealing for help and cried to be evacuated after its authorities refused to so.

The Pakistani government’s stand not to evacuate its citizens from coronavirus hit Wuhan city is an act of “solidarity” with its ally China. However, it has been brewing resentment among those stuck there. They have been slamming the Imran Khan government citing India as the foremost example to remind them of the responsibility they have towards their citizens.

In one of the several videos that have been doing rounds on social media, a Pakistan student shows how Indian students are being evacuated in a bus to flow out of Wuhan. A student in the video can be heard saying that the Pakistani government “won’t evacuate you even if you die, get infected or are still alive.”
 “Shame on you Pakistan government, learn something from the Indians,” the student from Wuhan can be heard saying.

Muhammad Rauf, a Pakistani student in Wuhan, told Reuters that he and 40 others were locked in their Wuhan dormitory for four hours a day. “How long will the lockdown be? What will we do? Just count down our days?” he said. He added that they have been calling for an evacuation plan for days now.

The Pakistani government’s rationale on the stand comes in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Special Assistant to PM Imran Khan on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said.

“It is in the largest interest of the region, world, country that we don’t evacuate them now,” he was quoted by Dawn News.

Despite the government, one must be reminded that there are up to 800 Pakistani studying in multiple universities in Wuhan city. The city has been quarantined by Chinese authorities, while various nations, including many in Pakistan’s neighborhood, have evacuated its nationals.

Earlier, Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi had taken to Twitter to forward the government’s stand. “Prophet's directions regarding disease outbreaks are a good guide even 2day “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it, but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place” (Bukhari & Muslim) Let us help those stuck there,” he said.

 news18