Unable to return to China, thousands of Pakistani students fear losing degrees

Pakistani students wearing protective face masks come out upon their arrival from China at the Islamabad International Airport. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 29 November 2021
Follow

Unable to return to China, thousands of Pakistani students fear losing degrees

  • About 28,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in Chinese educational institutions
  • China suspended the entry of foreigners in March 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19

ISLAMABAD: More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistani students say they fear losing their qualifications from Chinese universities as thousands remain stranded at home, unable to return to classes despite the government’s assurance of constant negotiations with Beijing.

About 28,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in Chinese educational institutions and most of them have been stuck in Pakistan since China suspended the entry of foreign nationals in late March 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19.

For more than a year, the Pakistani government has been saying it remains in touch with Chinese authorities to help students return to their colleges and universities, but some of them are on the verge of losing hope.

“We are hopeless and fearful that our money, time, is wasted, and our future is at stake,” Aroosa Khan, a Karachi-based student who has completed two years of medicine in China, told Arab News on Saturday.

“We are around 7,000 medical students in China, out of which above 85 percent are now stuck in Pakistan due to the travel ban,” she said, expressing the concern that they would not be able to become good doctors if they could not practice at university hospitals and clinical labs.

As Pakistan does not recognize medical degrees obtained from online courses — provided by Chinese institutes to overseas students due to the travel ban — Khan is worried that years of study and thousands of dollars spent on education may be in vain.

“It is not our fault that we have been compelled to take virtual classes. The majority of these medical students are on self-financing where their families have spent around Rs5 million ($28,000),” she said. “They are under acute stress and have become patients of depression due to the uncertainty hovering over their future.”

The worries of medical students are shared by those enrolled in engineering courses.

Adam Ali, from Attock, who is pursuing a degree in artificial intelligence at a Chinese university, said that he had exhausted all avenues of help.

“We have met everyone in the Foreign Office, the foreign minister, the education minister and all other officials, but nothing happened despite tall claims. When we wrote to the Pakistani Embassy in China, they didn’t even respond to our emails,” he told Arab News.

“When this travel ban was imposed and we started online classes, at that time we were assured by our Foreign Office that we would be able to travel back to China through chartered flights for next semester by the end of July 2020. But nothing happened.”

Another engineering student, Jamal Nasir, from Sialkot, said that he had left his job to pursue a master’s degree on a Chinese university scholarship, but as online classes were introduced that facility was discontinued.

“I had a good job but left it to pursue my master’s on a scholarship, which included a monthly stipend. After resumption of online classes, they have stopped (the) stipend as well, which created a lot of financial issues,” he said. “Now neither I have a job nor (am I) completing my studies due to the travel ban.”

As students from some other countries, including South Korea, were allowed back to Chinese campuses in August 2020 as part of intergovernmental deals, Nasir asked why it was not possible for Pakistanis to follow suit.

“If they want, they can impose quarantine and other standard restrictions but at least allow professional degree students to take physical classes,” he said.

The Pakistani government says that it is trying to resolve the issue.

“The issue has been discussed at various levels with the Chinese authorities both in Beijing and Islamabad,” foreign office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar told Arab News.

“We are also exploring the possibility of addressing the issues of research, lab work, scholarship etc with the relevant Pakistani and Chinese authorities and institutions,” he said. “We are pursuing the matter and are continuously in touch with the Chinese side at all levels.”

The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad told Arab News it had “nothing to comment on the matter at this time.”


French policeman to go on trial over 2023 killing of teen that sparked riots

Updated 2 sec ago
Follow

French policeman to go on trial over 2023 killing of teen that sparked riots

The trial of the officer could take place in the second or third quarter of 2026
“This order for a trial is both disappointing and not surprising,” said the officer’s lawyer

PARIS: The French policeman who shot and killed a teenager at point-blank range in 2023 outside Paris, sparking days of riots, is to go on trial on a murder charge, a court and prosecutors said Tuesday.

The trial of the officer, who has been charged with the murder of Nahel M., 17, could take place in the second or third quarter of 2026, the court and prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the killing took place said in a joint statement.

The officer, identified as Florian M., was released from custody in November 2023 after five months in detention.

Mobile footage of him shooting Nahel inside a car during a traffic control on a busy street went viral. The anger sparked protests that degenerated into rioting and led to scenes of devastation nationwide.

The police initially maintained that Nahel had driven his car at the officer but this was
contradicted by the video, which showed two officers standing outside a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at its driver.

“This order for a trial is both disappointing and not surprising,” said Laurent-Franck Lienard, the officer’s lawyer.

“The investigating judge would have had to be courageous to take a different position than that of the prosecution” which pushed for the trial, the lawyer told AFP, adding that he would lodge an appeal against the order.

“We maintain that the shooting was legitimate,” he said.

Frank Berton, the lawyer for Nahel’s mother, expressed his “satisfaction” over the move.

“We are just seeing the law being applied... Now all that remains is to convince the court,” he said.

The move to try the officer over the death of Nahel, who was of north African origin, comes against the background of new tensions in France over racism and security.

A man who had posted racist videos shot dead his Tunisian neighbor and badly wounded a Turkish man in the south of France at the weekend, and a Malian man was stabbed to death in a mosque in April.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is taking an increasingly hard line on immigration issues, has faced accusations of not taking a strong enough stance against such crimes and even fueling a racist climate.

But he said Monday that “every racist act is an anti-French act.”

Russia says no quick ‘breakthroughs’ in ‘complex’ Ukraine talks

Updated 03 June 2025
Follow

Russia says no quick ‘breakthroughs’ in ‘complex’ Ukraine talks

  • “The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,” Peskov said
  • Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy

MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday said it was wrong to expect a quick breakthrough in Ukraine talks, a day after Moscow rejected Kyiv’s call for an unconditional ceasefire at negotiations in Istanbul.

The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called “memorandums,” at the discussions, which lasted under two hours.

More than three years into Russia’s offensive — which has killed tens of thousands on both sides and forced millions from their homes in eastern Ukraine — the two sides appear as irreconcilable as ever.

“The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

“It would be wrong to expect immediate solutions and breakthroughs,” he added.

Moscow demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its offensive, according to the document handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.

Kyiv had pressed for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Russia instead offered a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline, its top negotiator said after the talks.

Peskov also dismissed the idea of a summit between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

“In the near future, it is unlikely,” Peskov told reporters when asked about the chances of the leaders meeting, adding that such a summit could only happen after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reach an “agreement.”

The White House had said on Monday US President Donald Trump was “open” to the idea, which is also backed by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, that killed three people.

Russian troops have accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Putin called a “buffer zone” inside Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

Zelensky posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road.

The attack “says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war,” he added, calling for “decisive actions” from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.

“Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defense,” he said.

Three people were also killed in a rocket attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Moscow’s army said it had captured the village of Andriivka in the Sumy region, located around five kilometers from the Russian border.

Zelensky said last week that Russia was amassing some 50,000 soldiers for an offensive on the region.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed it had hit a pillar of the Crimean bridge, linking the annexed peninsula to Russia, with an underwater explosive device.

The extent of the damage was unclear and cars were on Tuesday using the bridge following a temporary closure after the attack.

A delegation of top Ukrainian officials also landed in Washington for talks with US officials on defense and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelensky’s office said.

Trump, who said he could end the conflict swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelensky as the fighting drags through its fourth year with no end in sight.

But he has held off from imposing new economic penalties on Moscow.


Magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes off Crete — EMSC

Updated 03 June 2025
Follow

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes off Crete — EMSC

  • The quake was at depth of 17 km

SARAJEVO: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck in the sea off the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday but no damage or injuries have been reported, a Fire Service official said.


The quake was at depth of 17 km, 85 km away from the town of Heraklion, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said.


Ukraine invited to NATO summit in The Hague: Zelensky

Updated 03 June 2025
Follow

Ukraine invited to NATO summit in The Hague: Zelensky

VILNIUS: Ukraine has been invited to a NATO summit later in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, after earlier warning it would be a “victory” for Russia if it was not there.
The heads of NATO states will gather in The Hague, Netherlands, from June 24-26, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s calls for alliance members to ramp up defense spending set to dominate the agenda.
“We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important,” Zelensky said Monday after he held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Vilnius.
Kyiv is seeking to shore up its support from Europe because of uncertainties over vital military aid under Trump.
Last week Zelensky had said that “if Ukraine is not present at the NATO summit, it will be a victory for Putin, but not over Ukraine, but over NATO.”
Zelensky wants NATO to offer security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia — something Moscow has called “unacceptable.”


Support for Israel falling across Western Europe: YouGov 

Updated 03 June 2025
Follow

Support for Israel falling across Western Europe: YouGov 

  • As little as 20% of respondents in 6 surveyed countries hold positive views of Israel
  • Trends mirrored in US polling, with negative sentiment among 53% of Americans

LONDON: Support for Israel in Western Europe has hit an all-time low amid the ongoing war in Gaza, according to YouGov.

Data compiled by the polling firm shows that less than 20 percent of respondents in six countries — Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain and the UK — have a favorable view of Israel, with unfavorable views accounting for 63-70 percent depending on the country.

The range for those surveyed who believe Israel’s actions in Gaza have been “right” and “proportionate” goes from 16 percent in France to as low as 6 percent in Italy. In the UK, 12 percent believe Israel’s response has been proportionate.

The question of whether Israel was right to invade Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, is slightly higher, with 29 percent of Italians and 40 percent of Germans agreeing. However, 24 percent of Italians and 12 percent of Germans feel that Israel should not have invaded Gaza at all. In the UK, 38 percent feel that the invasion was warranted, with 15 percent disagreeing.

Just 24-25 percent of French, German and Danish respondents feel that Israel has any justification continuing operations in Gaza. The total is 18 percent in the UK and 9 percent in Italy.

The highest number of people on Israel’s “side” in Western Europe is 18 percent in Denmark, while the lowest is Italy at 7 percent.
The lowest polled nation for supporting the Palestinian cause is Germany at 18 percent, while the highest is Spain at 33 percent.
The numbers of respondents believing that Hamas had any justification attacking Israel range from 9 percent to 5 percent. In the UK, the number is 6 percent.
Respondents are pessimistic about the prospects for peace in the region. The French audience is the most optimistic, with 29 percent saying they believe peace is possible in the next decade. At the other end of the spectrum is Denmark with just 15 percent.
The trends mirror polling from outside Europe. In April, Pew Research Center polling found that 53 percent of Americans held a negative view of Israel, up from 44 percent in March 2022. 
In addition, Data for Progress found that 51 percent of Americans disagreed with Israeli plans to take full control of Gaza and move Palestinian civilians.
The same percentage said US President Donald Trump should “demand that Israel agree to a ceasefire” in Gaza.