PIA to evacuate Pakistan students from Ukraine amid Russia assault

— ‘500-600’ out of 3,000 students still stranded, says ambassador

— Sophisticated evacuation drive sees hundreds of students, nationals crossing into Poland, Romania

— Embassy in neighbouring Romania establishes dedicated line to guide people

ISLAMABAD/KYIV: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has arranged a series of flights to usher students stranded in Ukraine out of the war-hit European country, the airline said Saturday, days after Russian forces mounted a mass assault by land, air and sea on the former Soviet republic.

The first two flights would leave tomorrow for Poland, it tweeted.

While Pakistan Today could not immediately confirm that the flights will be carried out from which city, reports citing diplomatic sources said the students have been told to gather in the western city of Ternopil to cross into Poland through a land border crossing from where they will be flown to Pakistan via PIA jets.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also warned airlines to avoid flying over Ukraine and exercise “extreme caution” in airspace within 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres) of the Belarus-Ukraine and Russia-Ukraine borders.

At the time of the attack, some 3,000 students were studying in educational institutions across Ukraine, said Noel Israel Khokhar, Pakistan’s ambassador in Kyiv, in a voice message shared on Twitter.

A “bulk of them” have been evacuated and only “500-600 are left and […] in the process of being evacuated”, Khokhar said.

“All Pakistanis are safe and we are trying to guide them under the difficult situation,” he added, pointing to the closure of flights, banking apparatus and unavailability of transport and fuel.

A total of 62 people, including 21 members and family of the mission, have been evacuated. Another batch of 59 people was on the crossing between Ukraine and Poland.

A third group of 79 people — which included 67 students as well — was on its way to the land border crossing.

Another 104 students were arriving from Kharkiv by train while 20 others were being evacuated from Kyiv on a bus arranged by the embassy, Khokhar said.

In a related development, the embassy in Bucharest, the capital of neighbouring Romania, has established a dedicated hotline that is providing round-the-clock guidance to stranded Pakistan nationals.

Information about border crossing points and visas is being shared on social media accounts of the missions. People were also being guided separately, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

In coordination with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arrangements have been made for the immediate issuance of visas, further onward transit and medical assistance, while accommodation arrangements had also been made in the capital, the APP added.

Facilitation is also being provided for further transit to those who intend to fly to Pakistan or any destination of their preference.

Meanwhile, the government has called on Pakistan nationals to find shelter or if possible to attempt to leave the country by land, after Ukraine shut its airspace and evacuation flights were suspended.

PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik spoke to Khokhar on Friday to discuss “various options to recover our students” from Ukraine.

In a tweet, Malik observed the “airspace is closed but [the airline is] working out various options […] we shall find a way”.

The nation’s diplomatic mission in Ukraine has so far evacuated 35 students from Pakistan enrolled in various universities across the European nation while 65 are still stuck in the northeast city of Kharkiv are expected to be rescued today.

ANXIOUS PARENTS SEEK GOVERNMENT HELP

Amid fear that the tension between Russia and Ukraine could further escalate, anxious parents of students in Ukraine are appealing to the authorities to push for the evacuation of their children.

Despite the mission’s claims of swift response to the deteriorating situation and undertaking efforts to evacuate the students and Pakistan nationals living in Ukraine to safety, the former and their parents back home have belied the assertions.

Islamabad and its mission in Kyiv have requested neighbouring Poland to open its borders to allow the stranded students to enter its territory. Initially, Warsaw opened a single crossing to allow the people to enter the country.

However, the embassy has requested the country to open at least eight crossing points, considering the magnitude of evacuations.

Talking to a news channel, one Yar Khadim Hussain, a resident of Tando Allahyar city of Sindh whose son Muhammad Zarar is studying medicine at the International European University in the capital of Kyiv, said he was unable to contact his son despite repeated efforts.

He said he tried to call the Pakistan embassy but failed to reach them as well.

Hussain said he was worried about the safety of his son and appealed to the government to evacuate his son, and those stuck in the country, on a priority basis.

The students also lambasted the mission, saying its staff first asked them to reach Kyiv, and when they reached there after great difficulty and dwindling cash, they were told to go to another city.

A second student from Peshawar alleged the ambassador, Khokhar, was “deceiving the students”.

In a video message, Saqib Hussain, a resident of Noshero Feroze and a mechanical engineering student, said his life and that of three others stuck with him was in danger.

He said he contacted the Pakistan embassy but did not receive any help. He requested the government to arrange for their evacuation.

Koyal Ravi Bhel, another Tando Allahyar resident whose son has been stranded in the war-hit country, said her son, Raj Kumar Bhel, is studying at a medical university and appealed to the government to evacuate him.

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