Pakistani community in China contributes for COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Pakistani community including, students, teachers, businessmen and bankers living in China have contributed as per their capacity for their compatriots combating life threatening coronavirus (COVID-19) in homeland. 

There are around as many as 30,000 Pakistani students across China studying undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the fields of business administration, agriculture, science and technology. 

Besides, availing the Chinese government scholarships, many of Pakistani students are studying on self-finance and most of them have contributed from their pocket money in fundraising. 

Perturbed with reports of coronavirus struck all over Pakistan, the students started collecting donations in cash and anti-virus gadgets that mostly including N 95 mask from all over China. 

Prominent among those who hold the banner firmly for collecting donations includes Dr Sajjid Khurshid, a professor, Sabir Jan Tipu, a businessman, Sami Iqbal from Southeast China University besides other bankers, educationists, restaurant owners and members of Pak-China Chambers.

When contacted by PNFS, Dr Sajjad Khurshid, who has been living in China for the past two and half decades, revealed that the Pakistani community has donated face masks N95 and other equipments worth around 35,000 Chinese Yuan. 

Dr Sajjad Khurshid, after having done Phd there, has been associated with teaching profession. After having worked at the Pakistan Embassy College, Beijing, he is presently employed at an international school in the same city.

Besides a prominent educationist, having fluency in Mandarin language, Dr Sajjad Khurshid is a regular guest speaker in Chinese media, engaged in highlighting the Pakistan-China relationship and cooperation in the field of education, benefits and win-win for both sides from the China Pakistani Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s dram of One Belt One Road. 

It was informed that the members of Pak-China Chamber, particularly Sabar Jan Tipu, a prominent businessman living in China since his childhood, also actively took part in donation collections. 

Besides, donations from the Pakistani community, the Chinese government and people of China also donated in cash and kind for Pakistan. “It is great satisfaction for me to tell you that donated items have a value of RMB 25 million and it is very huge contribution made by the Chinese friends,” Pakistan’s Ambassador in China, Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi, declared in a TV interview in Beijing.

About medical supplies recently airlifted to Pakistan to help combat COVID-19, she said that this was a combination of some crucial equipments procured and purchased by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan but overwhelming tonnage of the equipment and supplies consisted of donations made by the Chinese companies and friends. 

Referring to China-Pakistan all weather friendship, she pointed out that President Dr Arif Alvi in his recent visit to China expressed solidarity and showed to the world that both the countries were standing by each other in difficulties and challenges.  

“At a time, when there was a lot of politics being played on the new coronavirus and there were very determined efforts by some countries to isolate China, we stood by China. Pakistan did not evacuate its people and we donated our entire stocks of medical supplies to China,” she added. 

Terming the current outbreak huge challenge, Ambassador Hashmi said that Pakistan was a developing country and there were large areas in the cities and villages where poverty still existed while the population was not 100 percent literate. 

“Under the prevailing circumstances, the government had so far done quite well. It had allowed local business under strict regulations to open up for certain number of hours every. The government also announced economic package to support the small and medium enterprises besides directly supporting the families and individuals who depend on daily wages,” the Pakistan Ambassador pointed out.