At least 170 Pakistani students returned home from Kyrgyzstan via a special flight on Monday as the government operates flights to bring them back after a mob attacked foreign students last week.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar received the students at the Lahore airport.
“The government has allowed four flights daily to enable students to return home on time,” Tarar told students at the airport.
Students complained that the embassy did not cooperate with them.
He added that it was the fourth flight of Kyrgyzstan’s local airline. The arrival of students brings the total tally to 540, the minister said and admitted that the situation was serious last week.
Tarar expressed hope to give maximum facilitation to the students regarding their education and completion of degrees. Tarar vowed to take all steps for the safety of students.
According to Tarar, another special flight would bring back injured students and their families to the country and the government would review the conditions of workers in Kyrgyzstan.
Over 350 Pakistani students landed in Lahore and Islamabad due to security concerns in Bishkek on Sunday. Two of the three expected special flights landed at the Islamabad and Lahore airports on Sunday night, with 180 students on board each plane. The third plane land later in the night.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the Pakistani envoy to ensure all possible arrangements for the return of injured students as well as those residing with their families.
At the Islamabad airport, the students who arrived via the KA 4575 flight were welcomed by federal minister Musadik Malik; in Lahore, the students were greeted by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar as the KA 6571 flight reached the airport.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that his trip to Kyrgyzstan to review the situation was cancelled at the request of his Kyrgyz counterpart.
“Last night we thought we should go there, they [Kyrgyz government] requested us and urged us to trust them,” Dar told a press conference in Lahore. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Frontier Regions and National Heritage and Culture Minister Amir Muqam accompanied the deputy prime minister.
He added that the host country requested him to send an ambassador instead as the opposition would politicise the matter if senior ministers arrived.
Dar while sharing details of his conversation with his Kyrgyz counterpart said that the latter assured him that the government was monitoring the situation “minute-to-minute”.
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“There is no further problem and there is no such thing that violence will again start,” he said and added that the government brought students from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Arab region and Kyrgyzstan together where they spoke with each other in a “cordial manner”.
The deputy PM said that the incident occurred due to a “misunderstanding”. While quoting the Kyrgyz FM, he said they also have an opposition who campaign against foreign students’ entry to the country.
He quoted his Kyrgyz counterpart as saying that “paid bloggers and paid social media” were used in the incident. “We don’t know what their agenda is.” He reiterated that the situation was normal, security institutions were active, and extra security was deployed outside hostels.
