KYRGYZSTAN Bishkek: Pakistani students flee violence against foreigners

Nearly 1,200 young people returned to their home country in recent days with special flights that landed in Islamabad and Lahore. The attacks were sparked by a video that went viral showing people of “Asian appearance” harassing students. The Kyrgyz authorities claim that there is justice, but the climate of intolerance towards immigrants is growing in the country.

Islamabad () – At least 1,200 Pakistani students from the International University of Kyrgyzstan, in Bishkek, hastily left the capital to escape a wave of violence against migrants from South Asia. Only yesterday the government organized several special flights that landed in Lahore and Islamabad to facilitate the repatriation of young people, who will only be able to return to the university when the situation, described as “alarming” at this time, is “stabilized.” However, so far there is no certain news about the timing and a climate of uncertainty and tension persists.

Yesterday the university’s rector, Asylbek Aidaraliev, explained that it was mainly first- and second-year students who left the country, while other older students decided to stay, at least for the moment. Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Education Minister Rasul Abazbek-uulu called the mass attacks on Pakistani and Indian students in Bishkek last weekend “a shameful situation” that “damages the image” of the country.

A Pakistani student, interviewed by RFE/Rl, explains that she left Kyrgyzstan because the situation is problematic and “we are scared,” to the point that she decided to do so “with the utmost urgency.” The young woman hopes that “the situation improves with the passage of time” and allows her to “return” to finish her studies and “get a degree.”

The origin of the violence, which broke out on May 18, was the publication of a video that appeared a few days ago and went viral on social networks. It shows a group of “Asian-looking” people harassing some students at night and chasing them to the dormitory. At least one young man was attacked and forcibly dragged along the ground.

“Now the situation is stable,” continues Deputy Minister Abazbek-uul, and referring to those who decided to leave the country, he stated: “It depends on us whether the students who left Kyrgyzstan want to return in the fall. That is why all state agencies must work together to convince them that it is safe to return.” Meanwhile, the capital’s police began an investigation into the mass riots aggravated by ethnic and racial hatred.

In his first public statement on violence against Pakistani students, President Sadyr Japarov declared yesterday that “all those responsible” will be “punished.” He recalled the difficult process that led to the birth of a nation “based on the rule of law” and, therefore, the importance of urgently “maintaining order” is even greater.

Government sources reported the arrest of four foreign nationals accused of vandalism, while law enforcement is on the trail of two Kyrgyz nationals suspected of being involved in the attacks on foreign students. On May 18, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health reported that 29 people were injured during the attacks, 15 of whom were taken to hospital for urgent medical treatment while others were treated at the scene.

Although on the one hand Bishkek assures that it is determined to find those responsible, on the other it speaks of “insinuations” and denies a climate of “intolerance” towards foreign students. On the contrary, the authorities accuse “illegal immigration” and point out that “stronger and more restrictive measures” are being studied to repress illegal immigration, and a more agile procedure to “expel unwanted people from Kyrgyzstan.”

Just three days before the attacks, the Kyrgyz State National Security Commission arrested 28 Pakistani citizens for allegedly “working illegally” and without official permits in a garment workshop in Bishkek. That same day, police in the capital closed delivery services carried out by more than 400 foreign students, mostly Pakistanis, on motorcycles and scooters, citing traffic safety problems.