Unrest in Kyrgyzstan: Why Indian, Pakistani students are being attacked in Bishkek? Explained

At least three Pakistani students lost their lives in an attack by locals in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Local people targeted and vandalized hostels of many Pakistani and Indian students. Apart from this, there are also reports of a large number of students getting injured. The Government of India also issued an advisory for its students and advised them to stay indoors. Following reports of violence, Kyrgyzstan's agencies have started detaining people.

#BREAKING: 4 Pakistani students killed in Bishkek of #Kyrgyzstan and others seriously injured after massive clashes over last few days. Pakistani students say no help from Pakistani Embassy or authorities. May 13 hooliganism inside a hostel involving Pakistanis led to violence. pic.twitter.com/YdvTHpwqxM

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 18, 2024

Thousands of Indian and Pakistani medical students attacked by locals in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in the early hours of Saturday, with hundreds reported injured. pic.twitter.com/rqW7dcIY3l

— World Times (@WorldTimesWT) May 18, 2024

Situation under control

The statement of the Kyrgyz government said that now the situation is under control and everyone is safe. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has asked Indian students to remain in constant touch with the embassy and inform immediately in case of any problem. At the same time, Pakistan has also warned its students. The police there say that the mob had attacked the hostels of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students. A large number of security forces were also deployed to stop the crowd.

Video went viral on social media

Videos of violence are also going viral on social media in which several foreign students have been beaten up. Pakistan says that hotline facility has been made available for the students affected by violence. Apart from this, flight facilities will also be provided to students who want to leave the country. It was claimed on social media that apart from the murder of three Pakistanis, many women were raped. However, no confirmed report has been received on this.

Why is the mob attacking foreign students? 

According to local media, there was a clash between Kyrgyzstani and foreign students over some trivial matter. After this its video started going viral. It was reported that Pakistani and Egyptian students along with Kyrgyzstanis were involved in the clash. After this, Kyrgyzstani students demonstrated saying that even the police were not taking action against foreign students. However, police say that three foreigners were detained after the incident. The violent mob started attacking Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi students.

There are about 15 thousand students from India in Kyrgyzstan. It is not confirmed how many of them live in Bishkek. Along with Russia, Ukraine and Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan is also famous for MBBS. The degrees of this country are also recognized globally. In such a situation, many people go to Kyrgyzstan to do MBBS. Currently, around 15,000 Indian students are studying in Kyrgyzstan. However, the number of students studying in Bishek is currently unknonwn.