ISLAMABAD: One Pakistani student has been killed and around 15 reportedly taken hostage in Kyrgyzstan’s riot-stricken city of Osh, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday.
"One student has been killed and there are reports that 15 have been taken hostage for ransom. We are trying to confirm these reports," Qureshi said. "Our first priority is to ensure the safety of our brethren stranded there. We are trying to establish contact with Kyrgyz authorities," he said.
Around 1,200 Pakistanis, mostly students, live in Kyrgyzstan, although many of them have returned to Pakistan for summer vacations, Qureshi said. Universities in the former Soviet states are attractive to many Pakistanis for their cheaper training in medical and engineering fields.
Obaid Ansari, who studies medicine in Osh, fled the city and returned to Pakistan after riots broke out. "I am receiving text messages from my colleagues and friends that have taken refuge in basements. They informed me that 15 have been abducted," Ansari said. "I and four of my friends managed to flee as we were outside Osh when trouble started. When we returned, there was fire all over," he said.
