Islamabad: Military aircraft on Tuesday brought
back 267 Pakistani nationals, most of them students, who were
stranded in Kyrgyzstan after deadly ethnic clashes erupted in
the Central Asian country last week.
The Pakistani nationals were flown back in two C-130
Hercules aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.
The first aircraft landed at Chaklala airbase in
Rawalpindi early this morning with 134 Pakistanis who were
greeted by anxious relatives, Information Minister Qamar Zaman
Kaira and Foreign Office spokesman Abul Basit.
The second flight, received by Foreign Minister Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, brought back 133 people in the evening along
with the body of a Pakistani student who died in the clashes
that erupted last week in Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest
city.
The military aircraft, which flew from Chaklala airbase
to Osh, also carried humanitarian supplies, including
blankets, tents and medicines.
The government had yesterday placed three C-130 aircraft
on standby to bring back nearly 270 stranded Pakistani
nationals from Kyrgyztan.
Foreign Minister Qureshi said the Pakistan government is
in contact with Kyrgyz authorities to ensure the safe return
of the remaining Pakistanis in the Central Asian country.
Pakistan's ambassador in Kyrgyzstan has been directed to
contact all Pakistanis and the country's embassy in Bishkek is
making efforts to gather all Pakistanis at one point to send
them back.
Qureshi said that according to the students who returned
today, there are no more stranded Pakistani nationals at Osh.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has briefed the
National Assembly or Lower House of Parliament about the steps
being taken by his government to repatriate the stranded
Pakistanis.
Gilani expressed concern at the plight of Pakistani
students in Kyrgyzstan and assured their families that his
government will do its utmost to bring them home safely.
After conditions deteriorated in Osh, Kyrgyz army
commandos escorted the Pakistani students to the airport.
Foreign Office spokesman Basit said all Pakistanis in
Kyrgyzstan, except the student who lost his life, were safe
and sound.
Over 100 people have died in clashes that erupted last
week between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 00:38