Pakistani students in Ukraine seek help; ‘Is anyone listening?’ tweets Maryam Sharif
Maryam Nawaz Sharif tweeted, "Is there anyone listening to the entreaties of Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine waiting to be evacuated?"
As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Russia visit amid the Russia-Ukraine war drew flak, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday slammed the Imran Khan government for not paying heed to the Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine. "Is there anyone listening to the entreaties of Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine waiting to be evacuated?" Maryam tweeted before the Pakistan government advised the students in Ukraine to reach the city of Ternopil for evacuation.
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The closure of the airspace of Ukraine in the wake of Russia's airstrike threw a spanner to the evacuation plans of the countries amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis which is now a full-blown war. India has evacuated its students through an alternative land route on Friday.
Pakistan's foreign office on Friday issued an advisory for Pakistani students and asked them to reach Ternopil. "A focal person (+380681734727) of the Pakistan embassy is also available for facilitation of Pakistani students in Kyiv," FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said.
"Trains are functioning and tickets are available from Kharkiv to Lviv/ Ternopil. In cities where public transport is not available at the moment, all students are informed that [the] embassy has tasked concerned Honorary Education Consultant for arranging transportation and bringing students to Ternopil," the statement said.
Before the Imran Khan government pressed to action, videos of students seeking help went viral. "The embassy is lying that they have evacuated all students. But we all are sitting here," a student said in the viral video.
According to reports, Imran Khan during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concerns over the economic fallout of the Ukraine conflict. "The Prime Minister stressed that conflict was not in anyone's interest and that the developing countries were always hit the hardest economically in case of conflict," the foreign office said in a statement late Thursday following the meeting between Khan and Putin.
