Pakistan Foreign Ministry summoned Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the country over concerns about recent violence against Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan issued a press release Saturday.
Mob violence against foreigners in Bishkek on Friday injured at least 29 people from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Egypt. The violence and acute animosity toward migrants has unclear origins, but Kyrgyz authorities say it was sparked by a recent dispute, and that they are investigating the incident. On Friday, hundreds of Kyrgyz men attacked buildings that were housing Pakistani and Afghan students.
In the wake of the violence, the Embassy of Pakistan opened an emergency helpline to help students and their families get to safety. Pakistanis in the country were warned not to go outside after dark. The government of Pakistan also summoned the Kyrgyz ambassador to express their deep concerns about the situation. The press release said, “It was impressed on the Kyrgyz Charge d’affaires that the Kyrgyz government should take all possible measures to ensure the safety and security of Pakistani students and citizens residing in the Kyrgyz Republic.”
Since the violence, Pakistani authorities have arranged for flights to transport their students out of the Central Asian country. At least 540 students had seats on the special flights. Pakistan’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Hassan Zaigham, visited the Kyrgyz National Hospital on Friday to meet with Pakistanis who had been injured in the attacks.
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