“We are a group of 11 people, including 4 Pakistanis and 4 Indians, stranded in a small village on the outskirts of Kherson city [of Ukraine]. We are left to fend for ourselves by our embassy,” said Rehan Shah, a resident of Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), in a phone call from Ukraine.

Shah is one of the 600 to 700 Pakistanis – mostly students – who were caught by surprise on February 24 when Russia attacked its former ally after a long tug of war that started in 2015 after removal of a pro-Moscow government in the wake of a protest.

According to Shah, who had gone to Ukraine in 2018 to pursue a degree in civil engineering from the Kherson State Agriculture University, no one from the embassy tried to rescue them in time.

“Often mobile phone numbers of the Pakistani embassy officials remain off and if we manage to talk to them they advise us to remain there till improvement in on-ground situation.”

Kherson was among the first cities of Ukraine to fall to Russians and Shah and other members of his group had to move to the outskirts amid constant shelling by the Russian troops.

“We’re helping each other on our own. A family in the village has provided us shelter. But, soon we will face a shortage of food, water and medicine,” he said.

Talha, from Mardan area of the KP, is a medical student in his second semester. He was stranded in Kharkiv, one of the major battlefields but now he has reached Poland safely.

Iqbal Uddin, Talha’s father, said initially there were some transportation issues when his son was leaving Ukraine but now the Pakistani authorities in Poland are taking care of all boarding and lodging expenses.

“They [Talha and other Pakistanis] are being provided with food, residence and other facilities free of cost by the Pakistani embassy,” Iqbal said.

Talking to Bol News, Pakistani Ambassador to Ukraine Noel Israel Khokhar said the allegation that the embassy was not helping the Pakistanis was completely wrong and that only those students faced problems who did not follow the instructions of the embassy.

A decorated officer, who retired from the Pakistan army as a major general, Khokhar said he had developed a comprehensive plan to evacuate Pakistanis as the threat of war was looming large over the country for the past several months.

“We had established a WhatsApp group and informed all the students about the evacuation plan well before the war broke out. I have even appointed honorary consular in various cities of Ukraine to help facilitate Pakistani students and families.”

The ambassador said he also held a Zoom meeting with Pakistanis on January 24. In the meeting, he had asked Pakistanis to leave the country immediately before the situation further deteriorated.

Khokhar said there were around 3,000 Pakistani students and 4,000 families in Ukraine.  Out of these people, 600 to 700 students were stranded in the country when the war broke out.

“They didn’t want to leave the country as their paperwork was not complete. The embassy had assured them of full support for their readmission to their respective universities but they didn’t pay heed.”

The ambassador said he personally contacted all the bordering countries to get facilitation for Pakistanis who wanted to leave Ukraine. He said they believed that Kyiv would not be attacked but the capital was among the first cities which came under the attack right from the start of the war.

He said due to the attack on the city, the Pakistani embassy had to be shifted from Kiev to Ternopil.

“We had advised students to reach Ternopol and told them that we would provide them with all their expenses to exit Ukraine. The embassy had arranged buses for evacuation of Pakistanis to neighboring countries and paid all expenditures incurred upon their train and bus tickets as well.

“We had asked them not to leave buses in such a cold and adverse environment but some of them didn’t listen to the advice and started their journey by foot.”

The ambassador said those students who violated the standard operating procedures (SoPs) have now started recording videos and contacting families in Pakistan to complain about their sufferings. “It was untrue. Had they followed our instructions, they wouldn’t have to face any trouble at all.”

He said despite limited resources, the embassy staff was working round the clock to evacuate Pakistani students from the warzone. “I have only three staff members here at the embassy along with a few employees but even then we’re doing our best to facilitate our people.”

According to the ambassador, the majority of students wanted to go to Poland as out of over 1,400 Pakistanis evacuated from Ukraine, some 1,200 had gone to the European country.

“Some of the Pakistanis have reached Romania, Hungary and Moldova as well. All Pakistani nationals having Ukrainian nationality can’t leave the country due to a government order. All 18 to 60 years old Ukraine nationals have been asked to join military service as volunteers.”

He said the embassy even supported and helped some Indians “so why can’t we help our own people”. Khokhar said he had asked Russian authorities to establish a humanitarian corridor to evacuate those Pakistanis who were still stranded in the areas where Russian forces have gained control.

According to the ambassador, Pakistani students had exchanged harsh words with staff at various crossing points, particularly at the Poland border for violating long queues.

“Our people wanted to cross the border in a hurry but there was a great rush as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian people too had reached the border to cross into Poland after the start of the war. Unfortunately Pakistani people created scenes at the crossing as clearance was taking 30 to 50 hours.”

To a question, Khokhar said they have identified remaining people and soon they would be evacuated.

Talking to the media, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier said they had talked to the Ukrainian foreign minister about the issue of Pakistani students. “We are in touch with foreign ministers around the world and are taking care of our children,” Qureshi had said. Zafar Iqbal, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Romania, in a statement said until now, only a few students have reached Romania as they are moving to Poland and other Schengen states.

“Pakistan Embassy in Romania has made arrangements for the accommodation of Pakistani students and families.”  The ambassador said a special hotline had been established for Pakistanis stranded in Ukraine to pave a safe way for them to Romania.

Iftikhar Ahmad Khattak, the chairman of the Ukrainian-Pakistani Society of Friendship and Business Corporation, told Bol News that many Pakistani students and families had contacted them for help.

Khattak, who has done his PhD in forensic sciences from Ukraine, said initially there were some logistical impediments as Ukraine is in a state of war but still embassy officials are working diligently. He said he has been in Ukraine since the 1980s and has been proudly helping his countrymen in the time of need.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Poland Malik Muhammad Farooq told Bol News that a large number of Pakistani people are arriving there and his staff was helping them 24/07. He said he himself visited the border crossing of Poland several times to review arrangements for Pakistani people.

He said they have arranged hotels for those reaching Poland with all other facilities and the Pakistani government is bearing all the cost. He said within a couple of weeks, all the Pakistanis have to be transported back to Pakistan via special flights. The airfields are very busy and Pakistan’s officials are waiting for a green signal from the government to carry out an air evacuation mission. Even the national airline – the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) – said it was ready to airlift Pakistanis home from Poland.

Echoing a similar point of view, Asim Iftikhar, the Foreign Office spokesperson, told the media that Pakistan’s embassy in Ukraine was advising the Pakistani students for many weeks to leave the country.

“The remaining 600 students are from different cities of Ukraine and are in direct contact with the embassy staff who are extraneously working 24/7.”

Moreover, he said, the Pakistani embassies in the neighboring countries including Romania, Hungary, and Poland are coordinating with the Foreign Office as well as Pakistan’s embassy in Ukraine. “Pakistani students will be then safely evacuated from these countries back to Pakistan,” the spokesman added.