Islamabad, 20 July 2022 (TDI): Ambassador of Pakistan to China, Moin ul Haque, announced the departure of the first batch of Pakistani students since the travel restrictions imposed by China due to COVID19.
A special flight of PIA took 105 students from Islamabad to Xian.
Federal Minister for Education and training Rana Tanveer Hussain was also at Islamabad International Airport to see off the students.
Beijing agreed to the return of Pakistani students
It is the first time since COVID restrictions that China has agreed to the return of almost 5,832 students of Pakistan who provided their information to MoFA.
Pakistan and China are taking a phased approach in which the students will travel back to China in small batches.
The return will take place in three phases. The first batch of phase one took off for the Xian Xianyang International Airport.
The students will be quarantined for the 14 days under the Covid prevention measures that are imposed on the international passengers by the local government. Afterward, they will return to their respective universities.
Pakistani students studying in different universities in China were stranded for more than two years.
The students said that their careers are in danger due to a huge gap in their studies. The decision proved to be a sign of relief for students.
PIA Special Flight bringing the first batch of Pakistani students have just landed in Xian. Students were seen off by Minister of Education Rana Tanveer Hussain at Islamabad airport.This is the first step yet an important one to safely bring back the remaining students to China. pic.twitter.com/rO894OJQW2
— Moin ul Haque (@PakAmbChina) June 20, 2022
The government aims to return the stranded students
The government is actively in contact with the Chinese authorities for the return of Pakistani students to their Chinese universities.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had highlighted the issue in his telephonic discussion with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Premier Li guaranteed that he will give high priority to the issue.
Moreover, the issue was brought to the spotlight during a meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto and Chinese State councilor Wang Yi.
The efforts by the officials have proven to be successful and brought a sigh of relief to the students.
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