Some 1,200 Pakistani Students Leave Kyrgyzstan, Fearing For Their Safety

BISHKEK -- Following unprecedented mob violence targeting foreign students from South Asia in Kyrgyzstan, around 1,200 Pakistani students at the Bishkek-based Kyrgyzstan International University have left the Central Asian nation.

University Rector Asylbek Aidaraliev told reporters on May 20 that mainly first-year and second-year students had left the country, though some students remain in Kyrgyzstan and have joined talks on the situation.

Deputy Education Minister Rasul Abazbek-uulu called the mass attacks on Pakistani and Indian students in Bishkek over the weekend "a shameful" situation that "damages Kyrgyzstan's image."

A female student from Pakistan, speaking in English, told RFE/RL that she was “leaving Kyrgyzstan, because the situation here is so [bad] right now and we are so scared that we are leaving urgently."

As Foreign Student Exodus Continues, Officials Fear Kyrgyzstan's Reputation Is On The Line

She said she was hopeful she could return to finish her degree and that “I hope this situation will get better with the passage of time.”

Another student from Pakistan, who identified himself as Ahmed Faiz, said he was studying at Kyrgyzstan’s International University. He told RFE/RL the “thing is that, on an international level, it creates a very bad image for the country, what happened right now.”

WATCH: Parents of Pakistani students in Kyrgyzstan held a protest following attacks on foreign students there, demanding the Kyrgyz government provide security for their children.

Parents Of Pakistani Students Protest After Mob Attack On Foreigners In Kyrgyzstan

The violence on May 18 was triggered by the appearance on social media of a video purportedly showing a group of "people of Asian appearance" harassing foreign students on the night of May 13 and then pursuing them to their dormitory, where at least one foreign student was assaulted by several men and dragged along the floor.

"The situation is stable now, the foreign students started walking around. It is up to us if the students who left Kyrgyzstan decide to return in the fall. For that, all state entities must work together to persuade them that it is safe to return," Abazbek-uulu said.

Students Leave Kyrgyzstan In Wake Of Anti-Foreigner Mob Violence

Bishkek city police said a probe had been launched into mass disorder and the incitement of ethnic and racial hatred.

In his first public comment on the situation concerning Pakistani students, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said on May 20 that "all of the perpetrators who attacked foreign students will for sure be punished."

"We have managed to build a state based on the rule of law. Therefore, we will support order," Japarov said.

The ministry said four foreign nationals had also been detained on hooliganism charges, while police are searching for two Kyrgyz men suspected of being involved in harassing the foreign students.

Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry said on May 18 that 29 people were injured during the violence, of whom 15 had been taken to the Bishkek City Emergency Hospital and the National Hospital. Others received medical assistance on the spot.

The Kyrgyz government over the weekend vowed to pursue those responsible for the violence and rejected what it said were "insinuations aimed at inciting intolerance toward foreign students."

SEE ALSO: Fragility Returns To Kyrgyzstan As Mob Violence Targets South Asian Students

Still, it appeared to lay the blame for the violence on illegal migrants, saying authorities had been taking "decisive measures to suppress illegal migration and expel undesirable persons from Kyrgyzstan."

Just three days before the violence, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security detained 28 Pakistani nationals for "working illegally" in a sewing shop in Bishkek.

The same day, Bishkek city police shut down delivery services conducted by more than 400 foreign students, mostly from Pakistan, on motorcycles and scooters, citing traffic safety concerns.