Source: Upstream News

On May 10th, the tense situation between India and Pakistan continued. In the afternoon of the same day, the upstream news (reporting email: baoliaosy@163.com) reporter contacted several Chinese citizens living in Pakistan to learn about the lives of ordinary Chinese people under the shadow of the India-Pakistan conflict.

Tickets back home have been canceled multiple times, and prices have risen two to three times.

Lahore City, located only 30 kilometers from the India-Pakistan border, is at the forefront of this conflict. As the capital of Punjab Province in eastern Pakistan and the second largest city in the country, on August 8th, the military struck down an Indian drone in Lahore and several other cities.

"On the 8th, I personally heard the sound of the drone being shot down by anti-aircraft artillery," said Mr. Wu, a 28-year-old man from Wenzhou who works in foreign trade. He came to Lahore for business more than a month ago. He recalled: "Actually, we received an emergency notice on April 30th, suggesting that it was not advisable for Chinese people to go out unless necessary."

According to his work plan, he originally intended to stay in Lahore until the end of May, but the sudden tension in the situation made Mr. Wu decide to buy a ticket back home on May 7th. However, what made him anxious was that he tried to purchase tickets twice, both of which were canceled." According to reports from CCTV News, on the 10th, Pakistan has announced the closure of its entire airspace. This reporter saw from the message released by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority that Pakistan's airspace will be closed to all flights until noon on May 11th.

Until now, Mr. Wu told me with some excitement, "I finally bought a ticket! It has been issued!" The uncertainty of whether he could travel smoothly after 12 o'clock on the same day made him say frankly that he was uneasy: "I need to transfer twice, first flying from Lahore to Karachi within Pakistan, then transferring from Karachi to Dubai, and finally flying from Dubai to Shanghai. Whether I can return home still has uncertainties."

Based on his experience of buying tickets for many days, Mr. Wu observed that the price of tickets back to China from Pakistan has already increased by two to three times. "Because my ticket involves multiple transfers, it was relatively cheap, costing me 6800 yuan. Tickets with fewer transfers are already around 20,000 yuan. I have been to Pakistan twice before, and the usual price for regular tickets is around 4000 yuan."

Mr. Wu is not alone. The upstream news reporter noticed that tickets back to China from Pakistan have become the focus of discussions among local Chinese people on social platforms. "Seeking the fastest flight route back to China from Pakistan," posted by netizen Chen Xiaonuan, mentioned that she noticed that returning by land involved disputed areas, and the fastest route back was via Dubai, "but the tickets from Dubai have skyrocketed." Netizen "Fendian" also clearly told reporters that her tickets had all been canceled, "I am in the capital, Islamabad. I currently plan to return by land and want to see if returning from Sust to Kashgar is feasible."

The life in Islamabad remains basically unaffected, and children attend online classes.

More than 300 kilometers away from Lahore, several Chinese citizens working in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, said that their current lives remain basically unaffected. Ms. Lin, 49 years old, who has settled in Pakistan for 29 years, told the upstream news reporter that she grew up in Shanghai and is now a Chinese teacher at a university in Islamabad, "Currently, my two children and I are attending classes as usual, preparing for exams as planned, and life continues as normal."

Ms. Lin lives in F-7 area of Islamabad, a community where Chinese residents often reside, with concentrated villas. She said that she has not yet seen any restrictions or hoarding of supplies in the community. "I went to the largest Carrefour supermarket in the city center yesterday to buy a week's worth of family necessities, and the prices are still normal. For fruits, watermelon costs 38 Pakistani rupees per kilogram (about 1 RMB/kg); for vegetables, the price of long beans is around 500 Pakistani rupees (about 13 RMB)." She mentioned that with the intensification of the conflict, local Chinese people, besides sharing safety updates in WeChat groups, are also considering whether to stock up on supplies.

It is reported that the local Chinese Association in Islamabad has successively issued relevant notices since August 8th, reminding local Chinese people to pay attention to safety. The tense atmosphere in the capital, Islamabad, is spreading under the conflict. "For example, my relatives live in the B-17 area 20 kilometers away, where the local community has been under control; residents are not allowed to turn on lights at night, and streetlights are also turned off," Ms. Lin said.

"Currently, my sixth-grade younger son started taking online classes at home on Thursday (the 8th), and my older son's major entrance exam was canceled on Friday. However, our university is operating normally. This is the答辩季 for Pakistani universities. From my observation, students' conditions have not been affected much." But Ms. Lin specifically mentioned that children and relatives of her university colleagues have died in air strikes. This made her feel very complicated, "It's a mix of emotions; I always thought these things only happen in the news and seem far from us. But once they happen nearby, they are especially hard to accept."

It is reported that with the continuous escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in recent days, both the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and the Chinese Embassy in India have issued notices reminding Chinese citizens to pay close attention to the situation and exercise caution when coming to Pakistan or India; they also reminded people in Pakistan and India to strengthen security precautions and enhance security measures. In case of an emergency, please contact the embassies in time for assistance.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7503021165091291702/

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