ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has managed to evacuate 1,227 nationals from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, said the foreign office in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin asked Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms in a televised address before asking his troops to launch an invasion of the neighboring country by land, air and sea.
The ensuing war created an emergency situation for foreign nationals in Ukraine, including Pakistani families and students, who urged their respective governments to make arrangements for their evacuation.
According to a fact sheet issued by Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Kyiv on Wednesday, most Pakistani nationals had already left on the advice of the embassy before February 24.
It added that Pakistani diplomats were doing their best to evacuate the remaining citizens.
“1227 Pakistanis evacuated from #Ukraine,” the foreign office announced in its Twitter post. “This effort has been led by @PakinUkraine and coordinated with @PakinPoland_, @PakinHungary and @PakinRomania.”
The embassy’s fact sheet informed that 4,000 members of Pakistani community — apart from 3,000 students — normally resided in the Eastern European state.
“The Mission has been providing accommodation to students in Ternopil and transportation wherever possible, especially from Ternopil to border crossings,” it said while adding: “At the moment, the situation in Kharkiv is very precarious. As per the record of the Mission, evacuation of all Pakistani citizens from Kharkiv has been completed.”
The embassy specified the total number of evacuated Pakistanis not only included students and community members but also families of its staff members.
It informed that Ukrainian forces continued to present “stiff resistance” both in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
However, it added the Ukrainian capital was likely to come “under immense pressure during the next 24 hours” since a major convoy of Russian forces was heading toward it.
The fact sheet estimated that nearly 600,000 people had fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
