China on Monday said that it is making arrangements for return of only a few international students who do have the needs and relevant work is underway. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said this in response to reports that Chinese embassy in Islamabad has issued visas to few Pakistani students. Zhao neither confirmed nor denied the report of issuing visas to Pakistani students and said, we really hope international students including Indian ones can return to China as soon as possible but we are still facing severe pandemic situation.<br />'' <br />''On being asked about the lack of transparency in China's policy to decide the country from where the students can return, Zhao sidestepped the question. There is still no clarity on the science behind China's selection of the country, number of students or the category of students who will be allowed to return even as two years have passed since around 23000 Indian students have been waiting for their return to China.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Last month, China had announced to facilitate the return of students from Mongolia, Singapore, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia as part of their bilateral agreements on the sidelines of 2022 Winter Olympics but it remained non-committal on the matter of return of Indian students. <br />''<br />''Due to persistent efforts by Indian Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry conveyed to the Indian Embassy in late February that China will work on the early return of Indian students to the country in a coordinated manner. The Chinese side also conveyed that the return of Indian students was not a political issue, and they will not be discriminated against in any manner while deciding on the return of foreign students to China to resume their education. In the recent past, China has allowed students from Russia, United States, and South Korea.</span><br />