On humanitarian grounds: Pakistan helps Indian students in Ukraine, says FM Mahmood Qureshi

MIRPUR KHAS: Pakistan helped “distressed” Indian students fleeing the Ukraine war on “humanitarian grounds” in Lviv, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Thursday.

Russian forces have yet to overthrow the government in Kyiv but thousands are reported to have died or been injured and more than a million people have fled Ukraine in the week since President Vladimir Putin ordered the biggest attack on a European state since 1945.

FM Qureshi, talking to the journalists in Mirpurkhas, where he is leading PTI’s Sindh Huqooq March, said he has spoken with the foreign ministers of Romania, Hungary, and Poland regarding the safe exit of Pakistani students from the war zone and they have assured Pakistan of their support in this regard.

“I talked with the Romanian foreign minister and sought an update from him on the latest situation of the conflict. Romania has a long 400-mile border with Ukraine and my discussion was focused on the assistance of our students fleeing war.”

The foreign minister added that most Pakistani students have left the country. “We are working hard to ensure their safe return and our embassies are playing a key role. You must have seen videos of our embassy [in Lviv] helping Indian students fleeing Ukraine where they were provided food,” FM Qureshi added.

“They are kids in distress due to war and we helped them whatever was possible on a humanitarian basis.”

In a video that has gone viral on social media, an Indian student can be heard saying that they were looked after by Pakistani officials in Lviv. “You can see these all are Pakistani students here. We are four Indians only and the rest are Pakistanis."

The student claimed that when they arrived at Kharkiv from Lviv, no Indian official was present at the embassy, noting that scores of people had gathered at the place. In the video, it could be seen that students were enjoying their meals in a comfortable environment at the Pakistani embassy.