PAKISTAN: UKRAINE PROTEST

Headline

Anti-Ukraine war protest in Islamabad

Intro

Around 50 protesters in Islamabad  call for an end to Ukraine war.

Story

STORY:  Dozens of people with links to Ukraine gathered near the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad on Wednesday (March 02) to call for an end to the raging war in Ukraine.

Waving the blue and yellow flags of Ukraine , and placards with “STOP THE WAR” written on them, they pleaded for the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to resort to talks to end the war.

Alexandra Butt, a Ukrainian married to a Pakistani , said her parents were living in the Ukraine capital, and her mother, a Russian by birth, was horrified at the invasion by the Russians.

“ She (her mother who lives in Ukrainian capital) says its unbelievable because, basically, she is Russian by her nationality. She is saying: ‘I can’t believe my brother is killing me,’ because she is Russian. She is saying my brother  --she was in Russian Federation -- and she was saying: ‘My brother has come to kill my family,’ ” Alexandra said.

Others asked for negotiations to end the war.

“In today’s world we just need to say No to war,” said Abbas Chaudhry a Pakistani married to a Ukrainian woman.

“We do not want Ukraine to get destroyed the way Afghanistan was destroyed, the way Palestine was destroyed; the way Iraq and Egypt were destroyed. We are totally against war. We plead with President Putin and our President Zelenskyy to hold table talks,” said businessman Gultaj Abbasi, who has been trading in Ukraine for over 20 years.

After nearly a week, Russia has yet to achieve its aim of overthrowing Ukraine's government, but has, according to the Ukrainian emergency service, killed more than 2,000 civilians and destroyed hospitals, kindergartens and homes.

The invasion has sent more than 870,000 people fleeing over Ukraine's borders.

Sanctions placed on Russia have shaken the world economy, and oil prices have surged across the world.

Russia has denied targeting civilians and says it aims to disarm Ukraine, a country of 44 million people, in a "special military operation".

On Wednesday, Russia said it had sent delegates for a second round of peace talks in Belarus.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia must stop bombing if it wanted to negotiate.