Returning students recall ordeal at Lahore airport

LAHORE: Students returning from Bishkek by a private airline late Saturday night related stories of their helplessness and apathy of the Pakistani authorities, at the Lahore airport.

Talking to Geo News, a student, introducing himself as Umar, said locals in the groups of 800 to 1,000 people attacked hostels and apartments of Pakistani and Indian students in Bishkek. They broke open doors, smashed panes of windows, forcibly entered the rooms and physically assaulted them.

He said they beat them severely with fists, chairs and whatever they found to attack with. They even livestreamed beatings of Pakistani and Indian students and made locals ‘enjoy’ the scenes.

Umar said at least 10,000 Pakistani and 15,000 Indian students were studying in different educational institutions of Bishkek, and only 180 plus students had returned to Pakistan by the current flight.

Umar said even the administrations of educational institutions were not protecting students or providing any help there. He said all students returning to Pakistan purchased their air tickets themselves, and the government did nothing in this regard.

Another student, Shahzeb, returning in the same flight, said he kept hiding in his flat, along with other Pakistani students the whole night. The locals were tracing them and attacking their apartments. They were not sparing anyone, no matter a student or a worker. He said even on roads, they beat up students.

He seconded Umar’s claim that they had bought their tickets themselves to return home, and the government had done nothing in this regard.

He said the local police were not taking any action against the attackers even after seeing beatings in front of them. He said the Pakistani embassy did not even take their calls and provided no help at all.

The father of a student complained that Pakistani embassy was not providing any help to students stranded there. He himself called the embassy staff to seek help for his son, but no help was provided to the student to reach the airport to catch his flight.