LAHORE: Foreign Minister Ishak Dar on Sunday told his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev that the situation in Bishkek is calm and social media is being used to create concern about the situation.
Speaking at a press conference, Dar Kulubaev said a total of four foreign students, including four or five Pakistanis, were injured in Friday’s attack and explained that reports of their deaths were completely false.
Kyrgyz authorities say paid bloggers spread rumours, and say social media is used to incite people to violence.
Dar, who is the deputy prime minister, said they had initially planned to go to Bishkek, but Kulubayev said the situation had to be maintained.
No further incidents were reported as of Friday, and he said more flights would be made to bring in Pakistani students who wanted to do so.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said that the incident was not aimed at Pakistan, as the situation arose only after a clash between local residents and some Egyptian students, which also affected people from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Before naming the PTI, he said that the political party that wrote to the International Monetary Fund against the interests of Pakistan has opened social media to spread fake news about the situation in Bishkek.
No student was killed or raped, Tarar said, adding that certain political parties were involved in spreading false and negative information to students’ parents.
Dar said a total of 11,000 Pakistani students are studying in Kyrgyzstan, more than 5,000 in Bishkek and the rest in other cities. He said in a press conference that the incident involved a group of medical students.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was personally monitoring the situation and described Kyrgyzstan as a friendly country, adding that one trusts Kyrgyz officials who cannot break diplomatic ties with other countries because of rumors and fake news.
Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister informed him that several people involved in the violence had been arrested and that the government would not spare anyone.
