Ishaq Dar, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, said on Sunday that four special flights, one of which is an Airbus plane from the Pakistan Air Force, will bring 540 Pakistani students to the country after violence against foreign students in Bishkek, the city of Kyrgyzstan.
Dar also said that the rioting did not kill any Pakistani students.
Dar told the media that after today’s special flights, the total number of students sent back from Bishkek would hit 670. He was speaking with Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Federal Minister Engr Amir Muqam.
He also said that three of the flights are full, but that the fourth PAF flight is still available for booking.
The deputy prime minister said that there are 24-hour hotlines available to help any Pakistani citizen who wants to take a special trip back to their home country.
“We are ready to take the students home if they want to leave…” “But it’s clear that not all students want to come,” the deputy premier said.
About 140 Pakistani students from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, arrived at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal foreign Airport last night (Saturday). This was after mob violence against foreign students, including Pakistani students.
Dar said that 16 foreign students, including 4 Pakistanis, were hurt in the mob attacks, based on information from the Kyrgyz foreign minister.
He told the foreign minister that his counterpart told him that he, the Kyrgyz president, and the cabinet chair were keeping an eye on things and that things were now “completely under control” with no more incidents recorded.
Dar quoted his counterpart as saying that foreign students were welcome to talk to Kyrgyz students.
The foreign minister talked about what happened and said that opposing parties in Kyrgyzstan often say bad things about foreign students. “He (Kyrgyz FM) said, ‘We highly value you as a brother country,’ but they (the opposition) talk about things that are against what the government wants,”
When asked about false information on social media, Dar quoted his counterpart as saying, “Paid bloggers and paid social media; we don’t know what their agenda is.”
“The foreign minister told me very clearly that lies were shared on social media.” “Not a single Pakistani student has died,” he promised.
The minister also said that ministerial meetings were cancelled after the Kyrgyz “senior leadership” said the situation was under control. They stressed the importance of maintaining good diplomatic relations with the “brotherly state.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his deputy, Dar, and Minister of Kashmir Affairs, Amir Muqam, to go to Bishkek on Sunday, which is today.
The deputy prime minister also addressed worries about the authenticity of upsetting pictures going around the internet, saying that things are under control and security has been improved.
Muqam stressed how important it was for the students to do well in school and warned against making the problem political.
