As tensions between Russia and Ukraine rose, Indian officials rescued a Pakistani student who was stuck in the war-torn country. With the assistance of the Indian Embassy in Kyiv, Pakistani teenager Asma Shafique was evacuated from a battle zone in Ukraine. She expressed gratitude to the Indian Embassy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video.
Asma Shafique, who was evacuated by Indian officials, is presently on her way to Western Ukraine for further evacuation out of the country. According to news agency ANI, she will be reunited with her family shortly.
“I want to thank the Indian embassy of Kyiv for supporting us all the way here as we were stuck in a very difficult situation and I also want to thank the Prime Minister of India for supporting us. Hope we get home safely because of the Indian embassy,” Asma Shafique said in the video posted by the ANI news agency.
#WATCH | Pakistan's Asma Shafique thanks the Indian embassy in Kyiv and Prime Minister Modi for evacuating her.
Shas been rescued by Indian authorities and is enroute to Western #Ukraine for further evacuation out of the country. She will be reunited with her family soon:Sources pic.twitter.com/9hiBWGKvNp
— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2022
This is not the first occasion that India has evacuated a foreign national. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India previously evacuated one Bangladeshi individual. The MEA also announced that one Nepali individual will board an Indian flight as part of Operation Ganga.
According to The Kathmandu Post, Roshan Jha, the first Nepali person to be evacuated from Ukraine by Indian officials, expressed thanks to the Indian government for their assistance. The Indian embassy in Kathmandu later announced that the Indian government was evacuating seven more Nepalis from Poland.
All of the Indian students trapped in Sumy, Ukraine, were evacuated through a Humanitarian Corridor on Tuesday, a day after a temporary ceasefire proclaimed by the Russians crumbled and violent combat resumed, barring their escape to safety.
According to MEA spokeswoman Arindam Bagchi, the students are being taken to Poltava, some 175 kilometers south of Sumy, where they will board trains to western Ukraine.
“Happy to inform that we have been able to move out all Indian students from Sumy. They are currently en route to Poltava, from where they will board trains to western Ukraine,” Bagchi tweeted.
