Daily Times

The government’s lawyer on Friday informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that an official visit of President Arif Alvi to China is on the cards, a private TV channel reported.

The lawyer informed Chief Justice Athar Minallah during a hearing of the petition filed by parents of the students stuck in China seeking to bring their kids back. However, a final decision on the president’s trip is yet to be taken, said an official of the foreign ministry. “A final decision on the president’s trip to China hasn’t been taken yet,” said the director general of the ministry of foreign affairs. He added that the Pakistanis stuck in the Chinese province of Hubei will be compensated with a cash grant.

Upon hearing this, a mother of one of the students asked the official to not give money but bring them back to Pakistan. During the hearing, one of the parents also told the court that they have been informed that there is a complete ban on the coverage of the disease in China. To this, Justice Minallah remarked that the court cannot intervene in policy matters of other countries. “The situation is so precarious that the US has imposed a ban on flights from Europe,” said Justice Minallah, to highlight how grave the situation regarding the disease has become. He added that coronavirus has become a problem for the whole world.

In the last hearing the court was informed that the federal cabinet will take a decision on the students stuck in China. When the matter came up during the proceedings on Friday, the official from the foreign ministry said that they haven’t been informed about the cabinet decision as of yet. “Some matters are not legal and the court cannot intervene in government policies,” Justice Minallah told the parents. However, the petitioner’s lawyer interjected saying that they are not asking for the court’s intervention in government policy but are seeking court’s help in getting informed about the return of their children. Upon hearing this, Justice Minallah told the parties present that the court cannot suspect the cabinet and its intentions. The judge also adjourned the hearing of the case till March 20 after passing the remarks. In the last hearing, the Islamabad High Court had told the parents of the Pakistani students stuck in China’s city of Wuhan that the state is not neglectful in the case and Prime Minister Imran Khan is overseeing the issue himself.