Pakistani students stuck in Ukraine have lamented their government’s indifference to their predicament amidst an escalating military offence carried out by the Russian forces. They have alleged that while India is actively evacuating its students in Ukraine via Hungary, the Pakistani government is doing little to rescue stranded Pakistanis.
Expressing concern at their plight, one of the students while speaking to Pakistani news channel ARY News conveyed her disappointment with the lack of initiative displayed by the Imran Khan government as compared to that exhibited by the Modi government in evacuating Indian students.
“There is a lot of bombing and military operations going on here and that’s why we want the Pakistani government to provide us security and a passage to safer places…because we are seeing that the Indians are rescuing their stranded students through the Hungary border. They are getting the Hungary border opened to rescue students stuck in Ukraine but no such measure is taken by the Pakistani government,” said a Pakistani student while talking to the ARY News channel.
India is bringing its students stuck in Ukraine back via Hungary but Pakistan is not doing anything as of now : Pakistani students stuck in the war zone pic.twitter.com/ifIwfuqhiZ
— Ashish (@aashishNRP) February 25, 2022
On Thursday, ARY News reported that there are more than 1,500 Pakistanis, including 500 students, stranded in strife-torn Ukraine. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Dr Noel I Khokhar claimed that all Pakistanis in Ukraine were safe and asked to move to secure locations.
Even though Pakistan’s Ambassador asserted that students stuck in Ukraine were safe, their parents back home accused the Pakistani embassy of papering over concerns raised by their children through glib assurances. They have alleged that the Pakistani embassy was only giving statements instead of their children’s safe evacuation from the war zone.
It is worth noting that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was in Russia to meet Putin on the day the Russian military forces launched a military offence into Ukraine. While Russia’s military operation had just kicked off in Ukraine, Imran Khan after reaching Moscow said that he was “excited” to be in Moscow at this juncture. Imran Khan was to visit Moscow and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during the two-day visit which was touted to be ‘historic’. This was the first visit to Moscow by a Pakistani leader in more than 20 years.
Indian government sends team in Hungary to rescue stranded Indians
Earlier on February 24, the official Twitter account of the Indian Embassy in Hungary informed about efforts undertaken by the Indian government to rescue stranded Indians in Ukraine.
“Team from Embassy of India in Hungary has been dispatched to the border post Zohanyi to coordinate and provide assistance to facilitate the exit of Indians from Ukraine. The mission is working with Govt of Hungary to provide all possible assistance,” it said on Twitter.
“The Government of India is closely monitoring the situation and evacuation plans are being worked out,” it further said.
Russia launches ‘military operations’ against Ukraine
On Thursday (February 24), Russian President Vladimir Putin announced limited military operations against Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the special operation to be conducted in East Ukraine.
Putin had added explicitly that Moscow did not plan on occupying Ukraine. He said the military action he announced would seek to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine and came in response to threats from Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s border guard agency, the Russian military entered the country from neighbouring Belarus. The Russian forces crossed Belarus to enter Ukraine from the North, said Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Northern border forces in Ukraine have come under attack by Russian troops.
A day after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the President of the Eastern European country, Volodymyr Zelensky, informed on Friday (February 25) that a total of 137 people (including civilians) were killed in Russian military strikes.
