The government of Pakistan has decided to bring back via special flights its students stuck in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the novel coronavirus.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari tweeted the development on Friday night, referring to those stranded there as "the bravest soldiers".

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has been tasked to bring the first batch of Pakistanis – mostly students – beginning May 18, when around 250 individuals are expected to return.

Pakistanis who had been studying in Wuhan and other cities in the Chinese province of Hubei – first region in the world to be put under a strict lockdown on Jan 20 after being declared a virus epicenter – had appealed at the time to be evacuated.

Multiple requests for evacuation were made not only by the stranded students but also by their families back home. However, the government said it would not repatriate them immediately and would follow guidelines and processes put in place by China in this regard.

To allay the fears of the students and their families, the Foreign Office in February sent two of its officials from the Beijing embassy to Wuhan while the strict lockdown was still in place. The FO said the staffers were to remain in Wuhan till the lockdown ended and would meet students in different universities to get an update on their well-being and safety.

In March, President Arif Alvi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited China and interacted with Pakistani citizens there via video link.

Upon returning from the trip, both the foreign minister and President Alvi briefed the media and said that the students were in a good condition and had only requested that Pakistani food be provided to them.

On March 28, China began lifting the lockdown in Wuhan. By April 8, the restrictions were completely lifted and some of the the students celebrated by cooking themselves a meal.