Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine, on Thursday, appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to prioritize the arrangements needed for their safe evacuation as Russia launched an invasion on its neighboring country in Eastern Europe.
According to the statistics shared by the Pakistani embassy, 1500 total Pakistanis are present in Russian-targeted Ukraine, out of which 500 are students.
All the Pakistanis residing in Ukraine are asked to move to safer regions till the evacuation arrangements are done.
In the meantime, Pakistan’s Embassy in Ukraine made a tweet announcing that Ukraine’s airspace is closed while the Embassy is trying to reach Pakistani students who were unable to leave earlier than advised.
Statements of the Stranded Students:
Speaking to an International News Agency, the students told that they have been advised by their university administrations to leave their apartments and move to underground metro stations to ensure their safety.
“We were living in our apartments but received instructions from our university administration to shift to metro stations,” Maas Hassan, who is enrolled in Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine’s northeast, said. “No one is listening to us and we appeal to the Pakistani government and Prime Minister Imran Khan to arrange our evacuation on priority.”
“We are around 700 Pakistani students in Kharkiv and about 15 have returned to their country,” Ali Hamza, a first-year medical student from Jhang, said. “All others are still stranded here.”
“Our embassy is not cooperating with us at all,” said a Pakistani student, Munam Khan.
“A few weeks ago, they told us they would arrange special PIA flights for us if the war broke out, but nothing is being done now.” He said.
Pakistani Ambassador to Ukraine talked to media on current situation:
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Maj. Gen. Noel Israel Khokhar, while talking to the media, said that all Pakistani nationals in Ukraine are safe and the government is working on their safe evacuation.
“On our advice, many Pakistanis had already left the country,” he told Arab News. “Only a few students are left behind and we are making arrangements for their safe and secure evacuation from Ukraine.” “We have asked all students who could not go out of Ukraine to gather at a safe place in Ternopil city [in the western part of the country] and our counselor assistant is also in contact with them,” the envoy added. “We will then work things out from there after assessing the situation.