Pakistan repatriates 140 students from Kyrgyzstan after Bishkek mob violence

LAHORE: After a mob attack left several int­er­national students, inc­luding Pakistanis, injured in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bish­kek, the first flight carrying 180 Pakistanis including 140 students landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore last night.

Interior Minister Moh­sin Naqvi along with senior officials received them at Allama Iqbal Internatio­nal Airport. More students are expected to arrive with more flights scheduled for Sunday (today). “The government is planning to send a plane from Islamabad to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and back to Islamabad this evening,” the federal govt said in a statement. 

A special flight KA-571 carrying more than 180 passengers along with Pakistani students from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, has landed at Lahore Airport.

Special flight KA571 has landed at Lahore Airport safely bringing back the first batch of 180 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan.

Federal Minister for Interior @MohsinnaqviC42 was present to receive the students at the airport. pic.twitter.com/TfOiVQeow7

— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) May 18, 2024

Pakistani students lamented the embassy’s response to their issues and demanded that their remaining friends in the country should also be brought back.

READ MORE: No casualties among Pakistani students in Bishkek mob violence, confirms Kyrgyz government

Speaking on the occasion, the Interior Minister said that transport facilities would be provided to students belonging to other cities. “Safe repatriation of Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan is our priority.”

On the other hand, Pakistan on Sat­urday summoned and issued a demarche to the Charge d’affaires of the Kyrgyz Embassy in Pakistan Melis Moldaliev over mob violence in Bishkek which injured Pakistani students.

The Foreign Office demanded “all possible measures” to ensure the safety and security of Pakistani students and citizens residing in the Kyrgyz Republic.

On the special instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Affairs Amir Maqam are scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan today. The foreign minister will later attend the SCO conference in Kazakhstan.

The government of Pakistan in a press release said, Pakistan Embassy staff and ambassadors have visited the hostels and the hospital and coordinated the security of the hostels with the law enforcement agencies. “While students living in isolated apartments have also been shifted to hostels,” it said.