Three Ukrainians who died as a result of a terrorist attack in Pakistan on June 23 have been identified by mid-Monday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said. They are Igor Severun, Dmytro Konyaev and Badavi Kashayev.
Their bodies were moved to a Pakistani military base, according to the web page of the Ukrainian embassy in Pakistan. One of two other bodies originally thought to be Ukrainian, belonged to a Lithuanian citizen, the country’s embassy in Pakistan said.
Gunmen stormed a mountaineering base camp in northern Pakistan on June 23 and shot dead nine foreign trekkers and a Pakistani guide as they rested by the foot of Nanga Parbat, one of the world’s toughest peaks.
The raid killed trekkers of at least four nationalities, and was among the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in a decade, underscoring the growing reach of Islamic militants in the region.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings, saying the attack was retaliation for American drone strikes in the tribal belt.
On June 24, the Ukrainian embassy in Pakistan was still waiting for several members of the Ukrainian mountaneering team to arrive to Islamabad from northern Pakistan to identify the other body originally thought to have been Ukrainian, said Yevhen Perebyinis, the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
In the meantime, the foreign ministry is organizing a trip for the relatives of the identified Ukrainians to Pakistan for the official identification procedure.
So far it’s not clear when the bodies will be transported back to Ukraine because an official autopsy is required. The foreign ministry is negotiating for it to take place in Ukraine to speed up the return of the bodies.
Ahmad Nawaz Saleem Mela, Ambassador Designate to Ukraine, received an official note from Foreign Ministry in Kyiv on June 23, with a demand to investigate the attack and punish the terrorists.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry said it was satisfied with the level of cooperation and assistance it has received from the Pakistani authorities so far.
“We have received full cooperation, both in investigation and in assessment of these events,” says Perebyinis.
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych expressed his condolences to the families on June 23.
“It is with great sadness that I received the news about the death of your relatives and loved ones, who became the victims of a treacherous terrorist attack on June 23, 2013 in the vicinity of Nanga Parbat mountain in northern Pakistan. I decisively condemn this bloody crime that has no justification, and share the bitter pain of your irreparable loss,” the president said in his statement released on his website president.gov.ua.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry says it has been recommending Ukrainian nationals to refrain from trips to Pakistan. “Unfortunately, this group of alpinists didn’t listen,” said the ministry spokesman.
