1,500 Pakistanis including students present in Ukraine, says ambassador

KYIV: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Dr Noel I Khokhar has confirmed that overall 1,500 Pakistanis including 500 students are present in war-torn Ukraine and they are safe, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Dr Noel Israel Khokhar, while talking to ARY News today, said that all Pakistanis in Ukraine are safe and they are told to move to safe locations. The envoy said that they will make arrangements for the evacuation of Pakistanis after moving them to safer places.

“Overall 15,000 Pakistanis are present in Ukraine including 500 students. We are in touch with all Pakistanis. Many of the nationals have already departed from the country following our advice and a few students are left in Ukraine. They will be evacuated soon.”

A message posted by Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine read, “The Airspace of Ukraine is closed. The Embassy is in touch with the students who couldn’t leave according to the advice given to them earlier. They have been asked to go to Ternopil. Where arrangements for their evacuation will be made as situation allows.”

It was learnt that two Pakistani students belonging to Chiniot were trapped in war-torn Ukraine.

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The father of two Pakistani students Tanveer Ahmed told the media that both of his sons are receiving education in the MBBS curriculum at Poltava University in Ukraine.

Ahmed revealed that 50 Pakistani students are also present at the Ukrainian university. The parents of the students complained that the Pakistani embassy was only giving statements instead of their children’s safe evacuation from the war zone.

They demanded the government to take immediate steps to bring back their children from Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorised troops to launch a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it’s intended to protect civilians.

Ukraine said early on Thursday it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a “high risk” to safety, hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shootdown or cyber attack.

AIRSPACE CLOSURE

Ukraine said early on Thursday it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a “high risk” to safety, hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shootdown or cyber attack.

Russia has closed some airspace in the Rostov flight information region to the east of its border with Ukraine “in order to provide safety” for civil aviation flights, according to a notice to airmen.

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Before Ukraine advised of the airspace restrictions, the United States, Italy, Canada, France and Britain had told their airlines to avoid certain airspace above eastern Ukraine and Crimea but stopped short of a total ban.

Germany’s Lufthansa halted flights to Ukraine from Monday, joining KLM which already suspended flights.

Two Ukrainian airlines last week disclosed problems in securing insurance for some of their flights while foreign carriers began avoiding the country’s airspace as Russia massed a huge military force on its border.