A Pakistani man who is stuck in Wuhan, China is appealing to his government to evacuate him, telling CNN that his father has died since he has been stuck in the city.
Mir Hassan, 27, is a PhD student studying computer architecture at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan — the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The city went into lockdown on January 23, and now tens of millions of people are unable to leave the city and the surrounding area, with checkpoints set up on roads, flights canceled and military police blocking train stations despite the suspension of train services.
Hassan told CNN that since he has been stuck in Wuhan, his father has died.
“My father passed away on Friday, suddenly. He used to call me every day since this crisis broke out asking me to come home. I last spoke to him on Thursday. Friday morning I was messaged by my brother that my father is no more," he said.
Hassan told CNN he has received conflicting information from authorities regarding getting home.
“My university and the officials at the Chinese foreign affairs helpline have said that I have permission to leave. I am alone here, I beseech my government to please evacuate us please, we all want to go home, my mother needs me," he said.
“I have not gotten any assistance from the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. They keep telling us that the Chinese government is preventing us from leaving, which is not true. The embassy simply needs to issue a non objection certificate to get us out of Wuhan which they are refusing to do," Hassan said.
Asked about Hassan’s plight, Dr. Zafar Mirza, Pakistan’s State Minister of Health told CNN: “We are absolutely saddened by the death of his father and he is very much in our thoughts.”
Mirza said that authorities have been in touch with Hassan.
“What I know is that the embassy has been in touch with him and we are trying our best to meet his request. I can tell you we are in contact with Chinese authorities to get him out,” Mirza said.
On Twitter, Mirza assured students in China that authorities were “intensely discussing the situation.”
Pakistan resumed direct flights to China following a suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak.