IHC seeks govt's response in Pakistanis' repatriation from China plea
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah presided over the hearing on Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday sought the government to take appropriate measures for repatriation of Pakistani citizens who have been stranded in several cities of China in the aftermath of 2019-novel Coronavirus outbreak – that has claimed the lives of 1,018 people and infected 43,111 in total so far.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while resuming hearing on a plea filed for the court’s directives to push the federal government for bringing back Pakistanis in China, ordered the government to submit its response on the matter.
“Do we kill our citizens for the sake of relations [between Pakistan and China]?” the judge asked, while further questioning that if Bangladesh could repatriate its citizens, then why could not Pakistan.
“It is not a viable stance that repatriation of citizens could be detrimental for Pak-China friendship.”
“We have heard that Australia has kept its citizens on an island […] you may also keep Pakistani students [from China] in any island near Gwadar.”
