BEIJING, March 29 ( INP): The second Pakistani citizen gave birth to a healthy baby girl, on Friday at Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital of Hubei Province in Wuhan. Ashaq Ali, a doctoral student in Virology at the Institute of Virology Wuhan University, the father of the newborn daughter beamed with happiness while holding her daughter in his arms at the hospital. Talking to China Economic Net (CEN), the father said that during the outbreak he was more in panic as on one side the increasing number of infected individuals in Wuhan make him psychologically more weak, especially when he has a pregnant wife and 2.5 year's daughter with him. "I am very thankful to my Institute and teachers for their moral support and they offered me every kind of help even they were busy in the outbreak," he mentioned. He further said that they cannot ignore the role of the local community that provided them pick and drop services to the hospitals and deliver them food and other stuff at their door in this crucial time. "Special thanks local foreign affairs office and community that they facilitated me for my wife routine checkup, counseling with hospital and provide transportation. They also facilitated me in baby shopping when there was virtually no possibility," Ashaq stated. He told CEN that as a field expert he had learned a lot from China, Chinese approaches towards disasters like the COVID-19 and indeed China sets an example around the globe, the world needs to follow the footprints of China how to combat this pandemic. "I am the only Pakistani who worked throughout this pandemic in my lab at Wuhan Institute of Virology". He further said that leaving his wife alone or sitting at home all time was hard for him but it was the local community and Pakistani Embassy that helped him a lot. By their support and help he was able to perform his family as well as his professional responsibilities. Ashaq Ali came to Wuhan in September 2018 and will finish his doctoral studies in 2021. He said that his wife delivered her baby via cesarean section, the operation went smoothly and a few days later they are expected to discharge from the hospital. The newborn baby girl and her mother tested negative for the novel coronavirus after examination while mother and daughter are currently in stable condition. During all this period my embassy supported me a lot, we are thankful to our ambassador, all embassy staff especially, Mr. Muhammad Junaid, third Secretary, and education attaché, at Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. A well-placed source told the reporter of CEN on the condition of anonymity that two more Pakistani students are expecting to have babies in Wuhan in the coming few weeks. It is also worth mentioning that the first Pakistani student gave birth to a healthy baby girl on March 12, 2020 at the same hospital in Wuhan.

INP/JAVED