More Pakistani students return home as situation in Bishkek remains tense
Pakistan
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar understates Kyrgyzstan unrest
LAHORE/ ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Another 346 Pakistani students returned home on two flights from Kyrgyzstan, as the situation in Bishkek remains tense following mob violence targeting students and communities from Pakistan and other countries in the Central Asian state.
In response to demands for the safe return of students and their families from Kyrgyzstan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken notice and issued directives for the protection of students and facilitation of their return to home land.
Following the premier’s directives, two out of three anticipated special flights landed at the Islamabad and Lahore airports on Sunday night, each carrying 180 students.
The third flight was scheduled to arrive later in the night.
At the Islamabad airport, students from the KA 4575 flight, which landed at 7:45 pm, were greeted by Federal Minister Musadik Malik.
In Lahore, students from the KA 6571 flight, which arrived at 8:15 pm, were welcomed by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
Families present at the airports to receive their loved ones expressed joy at the safe return of the students.
The Civil Aviation Authority established an immigration desk and provided transportation for the arriving students.
The federal government was supposed to cover the expenses for these special flights in line with the prime minister's directives, but the repatriated students complained that each student incurred travel expenses ranging between Rs90,000 to Rs92,000.
They demanded the government take steps for the reimbursement.
DAR PLAYS DOWN UNREST
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday said his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubayev had told him that situation in Bishkek was peaceful and social media had been used to create a hype about the situation.
Addressing a press conference, Dar, quoting Kulubayev, said a total of 16 foreign students were injured in the attacks on Friday, including four to five Pakistanis, and described the reports about alleged deaths as completely false.
The Kyrgyz authorities have said that paid bloggers are spreading rumours, he said and added that social media was being used to incite people to violence.
Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister, said they had initially planned to leave for Bishkek, but Kulubayev informed him that there was need to do so as the situation had been controlled.
No incident has been reported since Friday, said the foreign minister who added that more flights would be operated to bring those Pakistani students back who wanted to do so.
