First stranded student returns from Ukraine

The first Pakistani student, stranded in Ukraine because of the ongoing war in that country, reached Karachi via Istanbul on Saturday, as the Pakistan’s embassy in Ukraine said that nine more students were on their way back home.

The student, Junaid Hussain, reached the Jinnah terminal in the morning. In a video posted on the social media platforms, Junaid said that he belonged to the constituency of Senator Kauda Babar, and added that the senator helped him return home.

Junaid Hussain said that many students were helpless in Ukraine, as he criticised the role of the Pakistan embassy there. The embassy, he added, would provide accommodation for only three days after which nothing was expected from them.

However, the Pakistan embassy in Ukraine said in a tweet that 1,476 Pakistanis had been evacuated safely, adding that nine Pakistani nationals were on their way, while it was working continuously to evacuate the remaining 37 others.

The embassy said that its staff was working round-the-clock for the past nine days to ensure safe passage to the stranded nationals and students from different key cities, in the wake of flaring of the Russian-Ukraine conflict.