ISLAMABAD: The planned visit of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Federal Minister Amir Muqam to Kyrgyzstan was postponed on Sunday due to ongoing issues faced by students awaiting return flights following mob violence in Bishkek.
Dar and Muqam were scheduled to travel to Kyrgyzstan to assess the situation after a violent attack on foreign students, including Pakistanis, by a mob.
In response to the situation, the ministry decided to dispatch additional staff from Pakistan’s missions in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the embassy in Kyrgyzstan to bolster the small diplomatic team there.
The trip was intended to provide assistance to Pakistani students affected by the recent violence and to evaluate the repatriation process if necessary. “Despite the situation being under control, the delegation is being sent to provide necessary assistance and facilities to the Pakistani students,” the government stated.
Dozens of students returned to Pakistan, expressing dissatisfaction with the embassy’s response to their concerns. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was at the airport where he interacted with students.
Approximately 10,000 Pakistanis are studying, while hundreds are working in Kazakhstan. Several students have claimed that the situation was not as under control as the university and embassy conveyed to the media.
Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz government claimed that students living in various apartments were relocated to hostels, and the embassy has contacted medical universities to organize online classes for Pakistani medical students.
At least 140 Pakistani students returned home from Kyrgyzstan on Saturday night at their own expense, sharing their experiences of living amid the violence. Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced on Saturday that a help desk had been established to assist Pakistani students and their parents.
