The attack on Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan which happened on 13th May has been trending on social media for a few days now. The people from India’s hostile neighbour have consistently voiced their disbelief, frustration and anger over the development as they come to terms with the reality of nation-states and the relevance of Muslim Ummah — a theological concept which is meant to transcend national, racial and class divisions to unite all Muslims — in today’s modern world.
Now, an Indian netizen by the name of Pooja Sangwan has compiled a string of similar responses from Pakistani users, who as a force of habit boasted about their “powerful” army and threatened a “nuclear attack” in an ineffective attempt to intimidate, only serving to highlight their despair and the sorry state of their international stature. “Pakistan First” and “F**k Ummah” have also emerged as recurring sentiments in these posts. One such Pakistani also expressed the same without mincing any words.
Tempers are clearly running very high as Sher Khan conveyed his desire to “bully” other countries because Pakistan is the only Muslim nation with nuclear weapons and possesses the largest army among all of them.
The already despaired Pakistanis received yet another inconceivable jolt when their “Turkish brothers” from their shared “Ertugrul” heritage sided with the Kyrgyz, reaffirming their conviction to dump the Ummah and reiterating “Pakistan First.”
The remarks were replete with references to nationalism and hatred towards Ummah. One person advocated for the application of a “nationalistic militarism” approach and getting rid of all those who support Ummah and oppose the nation. The user further added that Ummahjeets (a derogatory term for those who support the notion of Ummah) should be dropped in Turkey so they can be attacked by the locals.
A netizen communicated dissatisfaction with the “8th nuclear power” and “7th powerful army” in the world for failing to help both its own people in Kyrgyzstan and the Ummah in war-torn Gaza, implying that Pakistan has been rendered completely incompetent despite its tall claims.
Coco pointed out the irony that Pakistan has major conflicts with all of its Muslim neighbours and that its citizens are targeted in Islamic countries. The user mentioned that only “kafir” (infidel) India has not attacked Pakistan as of yet and stated that the poison which is imbibed in young and impressionable minds against the non-Muslims through the country’s curriculum should be scrapped and replaced with “Pakistan First” because the country’s sovereignty is of utmost significance and the bogus ideo of Ummah has proved itself to be futile even in Gaza.
Another individual highlighted the attack on Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan and lamented that unwary Pakistanis preach about Ummah while the nation is continually “sacrificing its best interests” and undermining itself for those who despise them.
Notably, like all things Pakistani, even “Pakistan First” has also its roots in India because the slogan “India First” was coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in 2014.
The reason behind the attack
Videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz students and international students especially Pakistanis and Egyptians spread widespread on social media, causing tensions to rise, according to local media. Locals perceived the fight as a flagrant betrayal of the hospitality extended to the foreign students. On the night of 17th May, several Kyrgyz personnel staged a protest in the streets, claiming that officials had given the foreigners “lenient treatment.”
However, according to the authorities, they took three students into custody as soon as they learned about the brawl on 13th May. The dorms at medical universities, which housed international students from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India were the target of the violent crowds which reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least four Pakistani students and injury of fourteen others. On 18th May, the Indian Embassy also released an emergency number and advised Indian students to stay indoors and remain in touch with the Embassy.
Pakistan’s Embassy in Bishkek initially claimed that it has not received any reports of any deaths yet and directed its students to “stay indoors until the situation returns to normal.” There are about 14,500 Indian and 10,000 Pakistani students in the Central Asian nation which was part of the erstwhile Soviet Union and became independent in 1991.
