Pakistani embassy in Ukraine fully functional: FO Spokesperson

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 25 (DNA) — Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar has said Pakistani embassy in Ukrainian city Ternopil is fully functional. In a statement on Friday, he said a focal person of Pakistan Embassy is also available at cell number +380681734727 for facilitation of Pakistani students in Kyiv.

The spokesperson said all Pakistani students in Ukraine are advised to reach Ternopil as soon as possible for evacuation. The cell numbers of the focal person in Ternopil are +380632288874 and +380979335992. The spokesperson said that trains are functioning and tickets are available from Kharkiv to Lviv and Ternopil.

In cities where public transport is not available at the moment, the embassy has tasked concerned Honoary Education Consultant for arranging transportation and bringing students to Ternopil.  According to Pakistani embassy in Kyiv, all Pakistanis in Ukraine are safe and that it is reaching out to them to assure their wellbeing and evacuation.

In a statement, the embassy said it is fully functional at the moment from Ternopil. Pakistani Ambassador Dr Noel Khokhar has advised all students to follow the guidelines so that they may be transported to Ternopil for onward evacuation. The embassy has made facilitation center in Ternopil and reception point at Lviv railway station. Pakistan students will be evacuated to Poland.

The embassy in Ukraine is also in close contact with Pakistani embassies in Poland, Romania and Hungary. All these missions have been directed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad to facilitate all Pakistani students coming from Ukraine. The focal person of Pakistani embassy in Poland may be contacted on +48668059876 for border crossing facilitation.

The embassy in Ukraine has already gathered thirty five Pakistani students in Ternopil and soon they will be evacuated. Other Pakistani students are being transported to Ternopil and will be evacuated at the earliest. On the other hand, the parents of thousands of Pakistani students stranded in war-battered Ukraine have appealed to the government to help their children in getting them out of the battle zone.

Thousands of Pakistani students have become unsafe in the country which is facing Russian invasion. They said they had become helpless as they were forced to stay at bus stations and shelters. They were also facing problems in getting food. They complained that the Pakistan embassy was not helping them. They appealed to the government to help them to get out of Ukraine as the situation was getting worse.

MPL-N Vice Maryam Nawaz Sharif has landed her voice in support of stranded Pakistani students.  In her tweet posted on Friday, Maryam wrote: “Is there anyone listening to the entreaties of hundreds of Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine waiting to be evacuated?”

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman has also asked the government to evacuate stranded Pakistani students without any delay urging it to run special flights for this very purpose.  In her twitter post, she wrote:

 “Our students & citizens in Ukraine need to be safely evacuated to Pakistan without delay. Other countries have responded with speed; our missions there need to act fast to run special flights home. An embassy’s first responsibility is to nationals in distress, so please prioritise.” =DNA

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