Thee has been violence in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek. It has been targeting hostels housing Indian students, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis.

Three Pakistani students have been reportedly killed in the ongoing violence. This prompted Islamabad and New Delhi to issue advisories for its nationals in Kyrgyzstan.

Reports suggest that the violence erupted following a fight at a hostel between local Kyrgystan students and foreigners, including Egyptians and Pakistanis.

A video of the fight, which allegedly took place on May 13, went viral on social media. As a result, the violence spilt over to the streets of Bishkek.

Locals gathered on the streets on Friday. They started protesting over alleged lenient treatment of foreigners involved in the brawls, according to a report in the Times of Central Asia. However, police sources said that three foreigners were detained on the doubt of hooliganism.

Mobs attacked the dorms of medical universities that housed students from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. It quickly descended into a free-for-all. According to Pakistan’s Aaj News, multiple students suffered injuries and harassment directed towards women students.

The Pakistani Embassy in Bishkek, however, advised its students to “stay indoors until the situation returns to normal” and also made it clear that it has not yet received any reports of any deaths.

Kyrgyzstan is a much favoured country for students from South Asia particular India and Bangladesh for the best possible medical training. As per the Migration Data Portal, Kyrgyzstan has the highest number of international students (61,418) in 2021 among the five Central Asian nations where student go for medical training.