Hundreds of Pakistani nationals have been safely evacuated from Ukraine, with around 230 Pakistanis reaching Islamabad from the war-torn country on a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight early Wednesday morning.
The Pakistani Embassy in Ukraine confirmed on Friday that at least 1,463 Pakistanis had been evacuated from the country, and reported that the Embassy had evacuated approximately 98 per cent of the Pakistanis living there.
"Now only those few (around 30) Pakistanis are left in Ukraine who are stuck in areas of intense fight[ing]," the Embassy said.
On February 27, PIA sent two aircrafts to Poland to evacuate Pakistanis stranded there who had managed to cross the border out of Ukraine.
“The Pakistani embassy in Ukraine is not only contacting all those Pakistanis who want to return to the country but also providing them all-out information in this regard,” PIA Spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said. “PIA management is also in contact with the Foreign Office and officials of the Pakistani embassy.”
Approximately 3,500 Pakistani students were enrolled in universities across Ukraine. Many students recounted the difficultly with which they hurried to leave the county, noting that often times the Pakistani Embassy had left them to their own devices.
“If we had waited for the embassy to reply to us, we would have been stuck in Kyiv by now, so we decided to leave in our cars, straight away for the Poland border", one student told the Friday Times.
Since Russia began its invasion into Ukraine late last month, hundreds of civilians have reportedly perished in the onslaught. Pakistan has vowed to remain 'neutral' in the ongoing crisis.
The Pakistani Embassy in Ukraine confirmed on Friday that at least 1,463 Pakistanis had been evacuated from the country, and reported that the Embassy had evacuated approximately 98 per cent of the Pakistanis living there.
"Now only those few (around 30) Pakistanis are left in Ukraine who are stuck in areas of intense fight[ing]," the Embassy said.
On February 27, PIA sent two aircrafts to Poland to evacuate Pakistanis stranded there who had managed to cross the border out of Ukraine.
“The Pakistani embassy in Ukraine is not only contacting all those Pakistanis who want to return to the country but also providing them all-out information in this regard,” PIA Spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said. “PIA management is also in contact with the Foreign Office and officials of the Pakistani embassy.”
Approximately 3,500 Pakistani students were enrolled in universities across Ukraine. Many students recounted the difficultly with which they hurried to leave the county, noting that often times the Pakistani Embassy had left them to their own devices.
“If we had waited for the embassy to reply to us, we would have been stuck in Kyiv by now, so we decided to leave in our cars, straight away for the Poland border", one student told the Friday Times.
Since Russia began its invasion into Ukraine late last month, hundreds of civilians have reportedly perished in the onslaught. Pakistan has vowed to remain 'neutral' in the ongoing crisis.