Nearly 500 Pakistani students have returned from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with a plane carrying the third group landing in Lahore on Monday, Presstonight reported.
Relatives and a government delegation led by Information Minister Ataullah Tarar welcomed the 170 students at Lahore airport. This latest arrival brings the total number of students returning from Bishkek to 475. Earlier, 130 students arrived on Saturday night, and 175 more on Sunday.
At the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Tarar reassured the shaken students, who had been affected by their experiences abroad. “On Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s orders, we have arranged transportation to take the students home, including four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
Tarar mentioned ongoing communication with the Kyrgyz government to enhance the security of Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan.
Students’ lives ‘at risk’
Speaking to Presstonight, Mohammad Noor Wazir stated that Bishkek was dangerous and he felt that his and other students’ lives were at risk, demanding safe passage to the airport. Danish Khattak echoed these concerns, saying it was unsafe to leave their rooms and appealed for Pakistani government assistance.
Students arriving in Lahore claimed they reached on their own without government help.
‘Situation under control’; govt ‘helping’ students
Information Minister Tarar, in a Sunday press conference, asserted that the government was aiding students wishing to return. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar dismissed social media rumors about casualties, explaining that opposition groups in Kyrgyzstan were spreading misinformation. Dar confirmed that no students had been killed and reassured that the situation was under control.
He noted that around 11,000 Pakistani students were in Bishkek, with another 6,000 in other cities.
Emergency helpline numbers
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs activated its Crisis Management Unit, providing emergency contact numbers for Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan and their families: 051-9203108 and 051-9203094.
Email inquiries can be sent to cmu1@mofa.gov.pk.
The Pakistani embassy in Bishkek also issued emergency contact numbers: +996555554476, +996507567667, +996550730550, and +996501140874. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch confirmed that the embassy was responding to queries through these helplines.
What happened in Bishkek?
Mohammad Abdullah, a Pakistani medical student in Bishkek, explained that the violence began after Egyptian students confronted Kyrgyz students over harassment, leading to attacks on foreign students, including Pakistanis.
Local Kyrgyz media reported that the conflict started in a hostel on May 13, resulting in the detention of three foreigners. Protests erupted on May 17, with locals demanding action against the involved foreigners. Despite apologies from the detained students, protesters refused to disperse until several were detained for public order violations, following negotiations with the federal police chief.
