Beijing, Feb 6 (PTI) China said on Sunday that it will "arrange" for the return of about 28,000 Pakistani students who are stuck back home like their Indian counterparts for the past two years following visa curbs imposed by Beijing under its zero COVID-19 case policy.

A joint statement issued at the end of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's four-day visit to China on Sunday said, "both sides noted with satisfaction robust cooperation between Pakistan and China in the education sector, and committed to further enhance cooperation between the educational institutions of the two countries".

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"Pakistan side highlighted that China has become a popular education destination. While ensuring safety against COVID-19, China will arrange for Pakistani students to return to China and resume classes in a prudent manner,” it said.

However, there is no mention of any timeline in the joint statement for the return of the students.

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Recent reports said that about 28,000 Pakistani students are stuck back home due to Beijing's strict visa restrictions.

Thousands of students from the Indian sub-continent, mainly those studying medicine, are stuck in their countries as China is stonewalling their return on the ground that it wants to restrict foreign travel to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which emerged in Wuhan in December 2019.

This included over 23,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in Chinese colleges, and hundreds of Indian employees and their families who are stuck back home since 2020.

Recently, the Sri Lankan government urged Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Colombo to permit its medical students studying in Chinese universities to return as their future was at stake.

China in recent months reportedly permitted the return of students from countries like South Korea and few other countries, according to reports.

Since 2020, China has stopped issuing visas for Indians and currently, there were no flights in operation between the two countries.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)