ISLAMABAD: The government is in touch with Chinese authorities to help thousands of Pakistanis studying in China return to their colleges and universities despite coronavirus travel restrictions imposed by Beijing, the Foreign Office said this week.
China suspended the entry of foreign nationals in late March to stop the spread of COVID-19. Students who returned to Pakistan when the pandemic broke out are now unable to return to China and fear they may lose years of education, and end up not getting degrees.
“We are constantly in touch with the Chinese authorities on the issue, and trying to resolve it as soon as possible,” Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, told Arab News.
He said that a dedicated Foreign Office team was pursuing the matter, saying the problem was not specific to Pakistan and Beijing had a uniform policy for all international students.
The Chinese embassy in Islamabad could not be reached for comment.
Approximately 28,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in Chinese educational institutions and about 5,000 are stuck in Pakistan.
“I will lose my medical degree if the Chinese government doesn’t allow me to rejoin my university in the next couple of weeks,” said Mishal Zubair, who is a final year undergrad student in medicine and surgery at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
Zubair returned to Pakistan in June on a special repatriation flight when the outbreak was at its peak in Wuhan city, where the coronavirus was first detected in China. She has since been taking online classes.
“Under Pakistani rules, if I fail to attend classes in person for two consecutive semesters, my medical degree won’t be recognized,” she said.
Pirah Channa, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in textiles from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and has been back home since February, said she was facing communication problems during online classes because not all instructors had were fluent in English. “We are losing our precious time,” she said.
Students say they have written to the Foreign Office and the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to seek help, but have yet to receive a response.
“No government official and even the Chinese embassy in Islamabad are responding to our emails for visa extensions and updates on our courses,” Nasiruddin, an electronic engineering student at Southeast University in Nanjing, who has been in Pakistan since January, told Arab News.
He said some Chinese universities had engaged students in online classes, but that was not feasible for Pakistani students due to the time difference and poor Internet connectivity in many areas.
“I was planning to publish a paper by the end of this year on the basis of my research work in the university laboratory to complete my degree,” Nasiruddain said, “but for now that all stands upended.”
In touch with Beijing to help Pakistani students return to China — foreign office
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In touch with Beijing to help Pakistani students return to China — foreign office
- Around 5,000 Pakistani students cannot return to Chinese universities as foreign nationals are denied entry into the country due to coronavirus travel restrictions
- Students fear years of studies may go to waste if they are not allowed to resume classes in the coming weeks
Prominent lawyers arrested in Islamabad amid controversial social media case
- Police detain lawyer couple en route to court, family says no warrants were shown
- Mazari-Hazir, husband face charges under cyber law that carry up to 14 years in prison
ISLAMABAD: Prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested by police in Pakistan’s capital on Friday while on their way to a court appearance, a family member said, in a case that has drawn attention to tensions over freedom of expression and prosecution of critics.
Mazari-Hazir, one of Pakistan’s most outspoken civil liberties lawyers, and Chattha are being prosecuted, among other cases, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that authorities say incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as involved in “terrorism.” Both reject the allegations. If convicted under the relevant PECA provision, they face a prison term of up to 14 years.
A district and sessions court had directed law enforcement to arrest the pair in mid-January saying they had repeatedly failed to appear in hearings, and non-bailable arrest warrants were reissued.
“Imaan and Hadi were on their way to court when police arrested them without showing warrants or a copy of the FIR,” Shireen Mazari, Imaan’s mother and a former federal minister, told Arab News.
Police could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this week, an anti-terrorism court rejected the couple’s pre-arrest bail applications in a related case tied to a scuffle outside the Islamabad High Court, resulting in the couple spending the night at the Islamabad High Court Bar Association office to avoid arrest.
The couple’s legal troubles have drawn criticism from lawyers’ associations and rights groups, who argue that the proceedings reflect broader concerns about freedom of expression and the prosecution of activists in Pakistan. The Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Islamabad Bar Association both condemned what they described as an “illegal and unconstitutional move” by police, calling for lawyers to gather at the police station where the couple were being held.
Mazari-Hazir has a history of representing clients in cases involving alleged abuses, including enforced disappearances. Her work on sensitive human rights issues, including missing persons and other civil liberties cases, has drawn public attention over several years, and she has been involved in legal battles that critics say are connected to her activism and criticism of state policies.
Enforced disappearances have been a longstanding concern in Pakistan, with activist groups estimating thousands of cases over the past decade and calling for greater transparency and accountability. The government and military deny involvement.
