NEW DELHI, Mar 15 : Over 70 Indian students, mostly from Jammu and Kashmir, were evacuated from war-hit Iran and landed here on Sunday morning as part of the initial phase of a repatriation drive, an official said.
An official told news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS), the group, which also includes several pilgrims, arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on a commercial flight via Armenia and Dubai at around 9:45 AM.
He said the students were transported by road from various cities in Iran to the Armenian border. From Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, they boarded a Flydubai flight to Dubai, followed by a connecting flight to New Delhi.
Officials stated that while some students boarded the buses, others opted for connecting flights to Srinagar due to exhaustion from the continuous travel over the past several days.
Meanwhile, National Convenor of JKSA, Nasir Khuehmi told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that the majority of the students were pursuing studies at Urmia University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He stated that many of them had been previously moved to safer locations by the Indian Embassy in Tehran amid the escalating tensions in the region.
“The evacuation was made possible through coordinated efforts between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian missions in Tehran and Yerevan,” Khuehami said.
He expressed gratitude to the central government for facilitating the safe return, adding that the development has brought “much-needed relief” to families in Kashmir who were anxious about the safety of their children.
However, Khuehami urged the government to launch a full-fledged evacuation operation, similar to ‘Operation Ganga’ conducted during the Ukraine crisis, to ensure the safe return of all Indian students still stranded in various parts of Iran.
To facilitate the final leg of their journey, the Jammu and Kashmir government arranged AC sleeper buses at the airport. (KNS)
