"And now the students are really scared."
Pakistani students are being evacuated from Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek after mob violence against foreign students left at least 29 injured.
Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Avazbek Atakhanov held talks on May 19, 2024, with Hassan Ali Zaigham, Pakistan’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.
Atakhanov said the situation was under control and added that Kyrgyz authorities had launched a probe into the incident.
It is alleged that tensions escalated after videos of a fight between Kyrgyz students and foreign students, namely Pakistanis and Egyptians, went viral on social media.
The unrest, which occurred on May 13, was seen by locals as a blatant violation of the hospitality accorded to the foreign students.
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov and Ali Zaigham visited the hostel where most of the violence happened and met with international students.
Baisalove apologised on behalf of the Kyrgyz government and the Kyrgyz people for failing to protect the students.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials said a planned visit to Bishkek had been cancelled.
Around 140 students and 40 other Pakistani nationals flew out of Bishkek late on May 18.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met the students at Lahore International Airport.
The Pakistani Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said chartered flights have been arranged to get Pakistani students out of the country.
One Pakistani student said he had spent the night at Bishkek’s international airport waiting to fly out.
Hasnain Ali, of Ala-Too International University, said:
“Our university arranged transport last night. There were three vans. We were brought to the airport and here we are completely safe.
“Our flight is scheduled for today. It is a direct flight from Bishkek to Islamabad.
“We spent the night without any trouble and there was no attack.”
Another said international students were being told not to go outside.
Bishkek’s VIP Hostel was the epicentre of the violence.
Ahmed Faiz, a student at Kyrgyzstan’s International University, said:
“The students who are here only came to study. And now the students are really scared. I know that no country is bad.
“But, thanks to some bad people and their behaviour, the students are scared.
“They are someone’s children. They came here only to study, and they [the mob] came in and beat them.”
Describing the violence, Ahmed Umer said:
“Some locals went into our hostel, and they harassed women. Also, they broke windows, everything. They stole things from us.”
Sajjad Ahmad, head of the VIP Hostel, said faculties from Kyryzstan’s International University were helping students cope with the aftermath.
“They have been sleeping here since yesterday.
“They have been calming down the students. Now, the students are calm.
“Of course, the situation is scary. They will now head home. We are [arranging] plane tickets and flights.”
Approximately 500 people live at the hostel and all of them are expected to leave.
Ahmad added: “They didn’t expect such a thing to happen here.
“The atmosphere was very good in Kyrgyzstan. Now they are saying that they urgently need to [leave].
“Let’s see if they come back. Then they will continue their education here.”
Meanwhile, three foreign nationals injured in the violence remain in stable condition.
The Health Ministry said on May 18 that 15 of the 29 people injured had been taken to the Bishkek City Emergency Hospital and the National Hospital and the rest were treated at the scene.
The Kyrgyz government said four foreign nationals had been arrested following the violence.
They were placed in a temporary detention facility as part of a criminal case for hooliganism without stating their nationalities or the circumstances of their arrests.
In a statement, the Kyrgyz government said that those found guilty would be punished but rejected what it said were “insinuations aimed at inciting intolerance toward foreign students”.
The government appeared to blame illegal migrants, saying authorities had been taking “decisive measures to suppress illegal migration and expel undesirable persons from Kyrgyzstan”.
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