Worried Parents of Kashmiri Students in Iran Urge Indian Govt to Explore Evacuation Methods

The Wire

19-06-2025

Srinagar: Moments after a missile struck a sports ground near his apartment in downtown Tehran where he often played cricket, Sabir Bin Ayub, a final-year MBBS student at the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), dialled his father.'Since the war broke out, he had been hearing faraway sounds of explosions, but now it had reached their neighbourhood,' said Mohammad Ayub, a contractor from Srinagar's Rainawari district while recalling that his son sounded terrified during the phone call on Saturday (June 14).Ayub, whose son was enrolled at IUMS in 2020, said that the area struck by Israel in downtown Tehran was home to dozens of Kashmiris pursuing professional degrees who live in apartment buildings there.'I am concerned about my son. The government should ensure his safety and security and bring him home,' he said.Dozens of anguished Kashmiri parents staged a demonstration in Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday to demand evacuation of their children who study in Iran in the aftermath of the country's military conflict with Israel.Also read: As Israeli Missiles Hit Iran, Indian Students in Tehran Are Being Relocated to Safer AreasAccording to unofficial estimates, about 1,500 Kashmiri students are enrolled in different medical and other professional colleges and universities of Iran while a similar number of Kashmiris were visiting the country for trade and other purposes when the conflict broke out.Senior National Conference leader and Lok Sabha parliamentarian from Srinagar, Aga Syed Ruhullah said that Hujat Dost Ali hostel in Tehran which is home to many Kashmiri students pursuing MBBS and other degrees was hit by an Israeli strike on Sunday.'Some students have sustained minor injuries. We have urged the government of India to relocate these students to safer places and evacuate them,' he said.Smoke rises up from an oil facility after a Saturday explosion in southern Tehran on June 15, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI.Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also said that the hostel was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in which some students are believed to have sustained minor injuries.'More than 1300+ Kashmiri students study there, who must be in great fear for their lives, while their parents are in great anguish here. We appeal to the Govt of India to take urgent steps to ensure their safety and well-being and possible return. May Allah ﷻprotect them all and grant relief to their anxious families. Let's all pray for their safety—and for the safety of all people living in Iran from Israeli aggression,' he said in a post on X.Srinagar-resident and housewife Afroza Jabeen, whose daughter is a second year MBBS student at Arak University of Medical Science, said that her family was in touch with the Indian embassy about the ongoing conflict.'There are some 150 Kashmiri students at the university and all of them want to return home. India has good relations with all the countries. Prime minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian and Ukrainian authorities following which Indian citizens were evacuated from the war zone. Why can't he speak with Israel and Iran, and bring our children home,' Jabeen, a resident of Bemina in Srinagar, said.Jabeen urged the Indian government to explore options of evacuating Indian children through Iran's border countries of Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Libya.Norduz borderIn a letter shared with The Wire by Jabeen's family, the Indian embassy in Tehran on Sunday (June 15) sought permission from the Iranian authorities to evacuate the Indian and Indian-origin students from Urmia to Armenia due to the 'recent combat-like developments' in Iran.'The Embassy has the honour to refer to the esteemed Ministry for permitting the Embassy to escort those students /Indian origin students to the Norduz border of Armenia via buses. The details of the fleet will be provided subsequently,' the letter stated.However, in a statement early on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the embassy in Tehran was engaging Indian students for their safety and that 'in some cases' the students are 'being relocated with the embassy's facilitation to safer places within Iran'.'Other feasible options are also under examination,' the ministry said without elaborating, adding that it was separately in touch with 'community leaders regarding welfare and safety' of the students.J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said that he had discussed the issue of safety of Kashmiri students with the external affairs minister S Jaishankar, 'The Hon Minister assured me that @MEAIndia is in close contact with their counterparts in Iran & will take all necessary steps to safeguard all Indian students in Iran,' he posted on X.Buses to QomAmid rising concerns, Srinagar-resident Ayub spoke with his son on Monday morning who informed him that a fleet of buses was taking foreign students to the historic city of Qom in Iran which is a prominent pilgrimage destination for Shia Muslims.'He was in one of the buses and authorities have assured them that Qom was a safer place than Tehran. I wanted him to become a doctor and we chose Iran because we thought that being a Muslim country he would be safe there. He only has a year to finish his degree. It would be better if the government brings him back till the situation gets better,' Ayub said.Jabeen said that her daughter, who lives in the college hostel, has been left terrified by the missiles which streak across the skies over the city of Arak in Iran every night since the conflict broke out. Arak city has been unaffected by the violence so far, she said.'Since Friday evening, all the students have been staying together on the first floor of their hostel and authorities ordered them not to come out. Today, the university resumed classwork and they were asked to attend. The government should not take any risk and instead bring them home,' she said.