India today offered all possible assistance to China in grappling with the situation arising from coronavirus and said it could also consider evacuating Pakistani students from epidemic-hit Wuhan city if the situation arose and a request was received from Islamabad.

At a media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said China has already publicly stated that it was fully geared to deal with the situation arising from coronavirus. “If required, we will be willing to extend all possible assistance to China.”

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On reports that Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan have sought India’s assistance in evacuating them from Wuhan since the Imran Khan government has refused to rescue them, the spokesperson said, “So far, no request has come from Pakistan. If the situation arises and we have resources, we will indeed consider it.”

Hundreds of Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan have made desperate pleas to the Pakistan government to evacuate them, urging it to take a leaf out of India’s book. However, Islamabad has ignored their pleas, saying medical facilities back home in the country did not meet the standards required to treat a patient diagnosed with coronavirus. Watching Indian students leaving Wuhan after the Indian government launched a massive operation to evacuate them, some Pakistani students posted videos on social media, asking their government to do the same and also appealing to the Indian government to evacuate them.

The spokesperson said the situation arising from coronavirus was being monitored in New Delhi on a regular basis by a high-level committee. The MEA and other ministries have taken elaborate and comprehensive steps to deal with the situation.

He said India had airlifted a total of 640 Indian students and seven Maldivian students from Wuhan on Saturday and Sunday in a complex evacuation operation. He thanked the Chinese authorities for their assistance in successfully completing the evacuation exercise. The spokesperson said India was committed to the safety and well-being of Indians abroad.