Pakistani students claim Kyrgyzstan police facilitated mob attack on foreigners

In the wake of violent mob attacks by enraged locals in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday night, Pakistani students scrambled for their safety and claimed that the police appeared to facilitate the mob targeting international students.

Several students reported that the police seemed powerless to control the situation as a large group of people stormed medical university hostels and residences of foreign nationals. The attackers had several beaten students, with many sustaining injuries.

One student took to social media and asserted that while the army entered the hostels, they appeared reluctant to intervene and stop the attacks on foreigners.

Social media is flooded with videos and WhatsApp voice notes where students can be heard expressing fear and distrust towards the police.

“We can’t inform the police as they will share our address with miscreants,” a student said.

The riots left five Pakistani medical students wounded, according to Pakistan’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Hasan Zaigham.

However, visuals circulating on social media show numerous Pakistani students severely injured in the violence.

Pakistan's Foreign Office confirmed there were no reports of Pakistani student deaths.

As per reports, a brawl erupted on May 13th when Kyrgyz students allegedly harassed female Egyptian students. 

Videos of the altercation between the two groups circulated on social media. Kyrgyz authorities reportedly detained three foreigners for hooliganism in response to the incident.

However, the situation escalated on Friday, with a large group of Kyrgyz citizens taking to the streets to protest the leniency shown towards foreigners by the local authorities. 

This mob then attacked medical universities and residences of international students, including those from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

Paksitan's embassy in Beshkik also released emergency contact information for its students in Kyrgyzstan and advised students to stay indoors until the situation stabilises.