Pakistani student of Osh Medical University

Student wants to return to Osh
Umerkot, June 17: Despite the horrifying experience he had to go through in riots-hit Kyrgyzstan, a student of Osh Medical University who returned to his hometown Kunri late Tuesday night, says that he wants to go back to the Central Asian country to complete his studies after normality returned there.

Adil Mehboob, 24, student of fifth year in Osh Medical University, was among the first batch of 269 Pakistani students which was brought to Chaklala airbase from Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek in a C-130 aircraft of Pakistan Air Force. "It was the worst experience of my life but how can I quit my studies," Adil said while talking to Dawn. "I have spent five years in Osh and will earn a degree next year. So I will go back as the situation settles down there," he added.

Out of total 269 students, 10 were from the Sindh and the authorities refused to help them reach their hometowns, Adil said, adding that he contacted his relatives in Rawalpindi, who helped him travel to Kunri.

"I spent three days in my Osh flat without any food or water, hearing screams of people and watching flames from the window of the flat," he said. Then a group of around 20 Pakistani students left the riots-stricken areas and the Kyrgyz army provided them security, he said.

Rioters opened fire at the vehicle taking them to Bishkek and he thought that there was no chance of their survival but somehow they managed to safely reach Bishkek from where they were later flown to Pakistan, Adil said.

About Ali Raza, the Pakistani student who was killed during the riots,

Adil said that he was his friend and good student. His face resembled those of Uzbek people, he lived in an area dominated by Uzbeks and was killed on the first night of the rioting," Adil said.

His father Mehboob, a pharmacist, said he had spent almost Rs3.6 million on sending his son to Osh and bearing the expenses of his education and stay there.

"I put all my assets on stake to pursue my dream to seem my son as a doctor but the riots have shattered the dreams," Mehboob said. He supported his son's decision to return to Osh to pursue his studies. Dawn

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Student killed in Kyrgyzstan riots buried
Islamabad: Pakistani student Ali Raza, who was killed in violence in Kyrgyzstan, laid to rest in his native city Shorkot on Wednesday morning.

Around 267 Pakistani students stranded in violent hit Kyrgyz city Osh have returned home through two special flights of Pakistan Air Force (PAF)

C130 aircrafts, a private news channel reported.

The dead body of Ali Raza was brought home in second flight on Tuesday evening, which was later handed over to the family. App

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Through tears and joy, a happy reunion
Karachi: Teary eyes and floral garlands greeted Pakistani student Sumayya Rehman when she reached Karachi on Wednesday after escaping the bloody riots in Kyrgyzstan.

On Platform No. 2 of Cantt Station, a heart-rending scene was witnessed when a visibly tired but jubilant Rehman embraced her family and broke down into tears.

Rehman is one of the hundreds of Pakistani students who have been brought back to the country from Kyrgyzstan after ethnic riots broke out between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. According to her, some 100 Pakistani students are still stranded in Kyrgyzstan.

"I don't want to go back ever. I consider myself extremely lucky to be alive and to be reunited with my family," she said, overwhelmed with joy.

A first-year medical student, Rehman was living with her two cousins Lubna and Amna in an apartment in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Recalling the horrifying moments when the violence erupted in the city, she said: "Last Thursday, there was a lot of gunfire going around in our area but we dismissed it thinking that it was part of some celebrations. However, we were wrong as later that night, some armed people tried to break down the gate of our apartment. Had they been successful, they would have surely killed us."

Sumayya and her cousins were then helped by a foreign family and were taken to the Parliament House. Later, they were escorted to the Osh airport in armoured vehicles. Later, they were brought to Pakistan on a C-130 plane.

Meanwhile, Rehman's journey from Pindi to Karachi was not easy either. Here, the government did not give enough money for train's tickets and she and her two cousins had to seek help from strangers. "The journey stretched for over 36 hours. My cousins got off in Nawabshah, while I carried on my journey here without any food or drink," she said, sipping a soft drink.

Draped in a red and black shalwar kameez, fragile Rehman answered a question regarding the riots targeting Pakistani citizens and said that the deceased Pakistan student Ali Raza was shot dead as he was staying with an Uzbek family. "He told the miscreants that he was a Pakistani but they did not listen and shot him," she said amid tears.

Tightly clutched by her family, her mother Fatima said that she will never let her daughter go away again. "I cannot even tell what was going on me when I first heard about the riots. All the time I was praying to God to keep her safe and sound," she said in an emotional tone.

Meanwhile, the student's father, Habib-ur-Rehman said that the only reason he had sent his daughter to a Central Asian country was due to the low cost of education. "For Rs 300,000 my daughter was getting medical education as well as accommodation, which is less than the cost of medical education here."

Rehman has decided not to go back even after the situation gets better and wants to pursue her education here. "I never wanted to go to Kyrgyzstan in the first place, but I was unable to get admission to a medical college in Pakistan. Now I request the president to grant me admission to a medical college so that I can continue my studies here and my future is not destroyed."

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PM moves to save academic career of Pak students
Islamabad: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday directed the Chairman Higher Education Commission to examine as to how the Pakistani students, who were studying in Kyrgyzstan and were caught in communal riots there, could be adjusted so that their academic pursuit was not lost and they could continue with their studies.

The prime minister has specially sent Ms Neelum Jabbar, provincial minister Punjab, to represent him and personally visit the family of Pakistani student Ali Raza who was killed in the violent riots in Kyrgyzstan.

The prime minister asked Ms Neelum Jabbar to convey to the father of Ali Raza that the government would bear all the expenses for studies of all the children of his family. On Tuesday, the prime minister made a telephone call to the father of the Pakistani student Ali Raza and condoled with him on the tragic death of his son. He assured him every possible assistance for his family.

The father of Ali Raza during telephonic conversation thanked the prime minister for his personal concern and appreciated the role of the Pakistan Embassy in Kyrgyzstan as well as the Foreign Office in recovering the body of his son.

It needs to be mentioned that soon after receiving the news of communal riots in Kyrgyzstan, the prime minister issued instructions to the Foreign Office, the NDMA and other concerned organisations to take immediate action for the protection of all the Pakistani students in Osh.

Thereafter, the whole operation of actions to be taken was completed within 12 hours because of personal involvement of the prime minister the whole daylong. The PM had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the recovery of the body of Ali Raza and its dispatch to Pakistan. He also asked them to prepare details about other students studying in Kyrgyzstan. A number of parents of students who have returned from Kyrgyzstan have thanked the timely action of the government for the safe return of their children. The news

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Kyrgyz crisis: students worried about future
Timegara: Five students belonging to Dir Lower have safely returned from the violence-hit Osh city of Kyrgyzstan but they are worried about their future.

"I, along with four other students -- Irfanullah and Rizwanullah, residents of Kitiari village; Asadullah of Ouch and Mohammad Tariq of Chakdara -- reached home safely on Wednesday," Izhar Qazi, a fourth year medical students at Osh University, told Dawn.

He said that they had been getting medical education in Kyrgyzstan for the last four years. They were forced to leave the country after outbreak of turmoil in Osh.

"I will never forget the gory scenes. We saw human beings lying in pools of blood when we were going to the airport to board the C-130, sent for us by the Pakistan government," Izhar told this reporter.

"Now we are much worried about our future," he said. He added they had to spend $6,000 on their education per year. "We have spent a lot of money and the government should now do some thing for our degrees," he said. Dawn

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