The worried parents and family members of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran have criticized Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar for failing to take immediate steps for relocating their chidlren to safer areas within Iran.
The parents and family members call their children in Iran multiple times a day to enquire about their safety. The stranded Kashmiri students told media outlets in Srinagar over phone that students from Pakistan and Arab countries have been evacuated, while they have been left at the mercy of circumstances as Indian embassy remains indifferent to their well-being and evacuation.
Faizan Ali, a 21-year-old student of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Iran, has never got so many calls from family members as much as he is receiving these days. Ali, who hails from Srinagar, said that his family members are scared for his safety amid the Iran-Israel conflict. “I have been in boarding school since class 7 and I am not used to talking to my family members daily. But ever since Israel launched attack on Iran, my family has been calling me 10 times a day enquiring about my well-being,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention for the evacuation of hundreds of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran.
Another female student said they have packed their bags but lamented that they have run out of money.
Moien Mushtaq, a third year student of Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences, said there are 10 students along with him, who are stuck in the two hostels of the varsity. “Seven of us are in one hostel and four women in another hostel who are stuck. We are in touch with Indian embassy and we are being told we will be evacuated soon but nothing seems to be happening,” he said, adding students from Pakistan and Arab countries have been evacuated.
The 21-year-old from Kupwara in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir said that their family members had also protested back home demanding their evacuation.