Latest news with #MinistryOfExternalAffairs
Times of Oman
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
4415 Indians evacuated from conflict zones in Iran, Israel via 19 special flights: MEA
New Delhi: The Indian government has initiated Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from conflict zones in Iran and Israel amid escalating tensions in West Asia. The operation, which began on June 18, has successfully evacuated over 4415 Indian nationals so far. "A total of 4415 Indian nationals (3597 from Iran and 818 from Israel) have been evacuated so far using 19 special evacuation flights, including 3 IAF C-17 aircraft. 14 OCI card-holders, 9 Nepali nationals, 4 Sri Lankan nationals and 1 Iranian spouse of an Indian national were also evacuated from Iran," the Ministry of External Affairs said. "The evacuated Indian nationals included more than 1500 women and 500 children," it added. According to MEA, on 17-18 June, Indian Missions in Tehran, Yerevan, and Ashgabat coordinated the evacuation of Indian nationals from Iran through land border crossings to Armenia and Turkmenistan. Special evacuation flights commenced on 18 June and facilitated the return of Indian nationals to New Delhi. The majority of evacuations were carried out through Mashhad, following Iran's opening of its airspace for evacuation flights under Operation Sindhu on June 20 at India's request. "We thank the Government of Iran for this gesture. A total of 3597 Indian nationals -- including students, workers, professionals, pilgrims and fishermen - from more than 15 Indian states - were brought back to India from Yerevan, Ashgabat and Mashhad from June 18 to 26using 15 special evacuation flights," as per MEA. The Israel leg of Operation Sindhu commenced on June 23. Indian Missions in Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Amman and Cairo facilitated the movement of Indian nationals across land borders to Jordan and Egypt. A total of 818 Indian nationals were evacuated, including students, workers and professionals. They were evacuated from Amman and Sharm al Sheikh from June 22 to 25 using four evacuation flights including 3 IAF C-17 aircraft. MEA noted that, "in view of the reopening of the airspace, evacuation operations were halted on June 25. Further actions will be taken based on the evolving situation in West Asia." The Government of India is deeply committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens abroad. Under PM Narendra Modi's guidance, Operation Sindhu is another demonstration of this commitment, said the MEA.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
India expresses dismay over Durga Temple demolition in Dhaka
New Delhi: India has expressed dismay over Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus-led interim government's decision to allow demolition of a makeshift Durga Temple in Khilkhet in Dhaka, saying that the governnment instead of providing security to the temple, projected the episode as illegal land use and allowed the destruction of the temple. Addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the action has resulted in damage to the deity before it was shifted. When asked about Temple demolition in Bangladesh, he said, "We understand that extremists were clamouring for demolishing the Durga temple in Khilkhet, Dhaka. The interim government, instead of providing security to the temple, projected the episode as illegal land use allowing and they allowed the destruction of the temple today." "This has resulted in damage to the deity before it was shifted. We are dismayed that such incidents continue to recur in Bangladesh. Let me underline that it is the responsibility of the interim government of Bangladesh to protect Hindus, their properties, and religious institutions," he added. Bangladesh Railway authorities on Thursday demolished a makeshift Durga Temple constructed on its land in Dhaka's Khilkhet. The temple was demolished three days after a mob demanded the removal of the temple. The Bangladesh Railway authorities said that they demolished Khilkhet Sarbojanin Shri Shri Durga Mandir as it was constructed illegally on railway land. The decision of the authorities has been condemned by several minority organisations, alleging that the authorities demolished the temple without providing prior notice to the community people. The temple committee members alleged that a mob of more than 500 people, with sticks, took position in the temple while the worshippers were staying in the temple at about 9 pm (local time) on Monday, Bangladesh-based newspaper New Age reported. They alleged that the railway authorities only demolished the temple while all other establishments remained untouched. Speaking to New Age, the committee secretary Arjun Roy said that they took permission from the railway authorities to celebrate Durga puja there in the past year and to use the place for their worshipping temporarily. He further said, "But the authorities demolished everything today without giving us a prior notice. We are very disheartened over the incident." Speaking to New Age, Bangladesh Railway's Dhaka divisional estate officer Md Nasir Uddin Mahmud said that the demolition of the temple and other illegal establishments began at about 10 am(local time). According to him, a number of establishments were built on the railway's land illegally and they came to know regarding the makeshift temple on Monday. Md Nasir Uddin Mahmud stated that the temple's committee did not take permission from the uahtorites, New Age reported. The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, the Mahanagor Sarbojanin Puja Committee, and the Minority Rights Movement in separate statements condemned the mob incident and the demolition of the temple.
Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
India evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran, 818 from Israel in Operation Sindhu: MEA
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India, so far have evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran and 818 Indian nationals from Israel in Operation Sindhu. Addressing a weekly briefing on Thursday, Jaiswal said, "We launched Operation Sindhu on the 18th of June. We have around 10,000 people from the Indian community in Iran, around 40,000 people in Israel who are Indian nationals." "From Iran, we have so far evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals, 11 OCI cardholders, 9 Nepalese nationals and some Sri Lankan nationals as well. I'll give you the exact figure. Plus one Iranian national who happens to be the spouse of an Indian national. In all, we mounted 14 flights to bring back Indian nationals from Iran. These flights, they flew from Mashhad, as well as from Yerevan in Armenia, and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan," he added. Further, Jaiswal confirmed that, "one more flight is to come from or is on its way from Armenia and it will land later this evening. With that, we would have completed all the people who wish to be evacuated from Iran and they would be back home." In Israel, 818 Indian nationals were evacuated in four flights. Due to Israel's closed airspace, Indians were taken to Jordan and Egypt, from where special flights were operated to bring them back home. The MEA expressed gratitude to the governments of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel for their support. "As far as Israel is concerned, we have so far evacuated 818 Indian nationals in four flights. As you are aware, the airspace in Israel was closed, so we had to take our people to bordering countries, that is Jordan and Egypt, and from both these countries they were put on special flights and they came back home. We are thankful to the governments of Egypt, Jordan for this support," he said. "Our embassies in Israel, in Jordan, in Egypt, collaborated very closely with the ministry headquarters here in mounting this operation. Once again, we'd like to thank the governments of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt for the support in Operation Sindhu," he added. Jaiswal also thanked the governments of Iran for opening their airspace for evacuation. "We made a request and they hope to open the airspace for us to evacuate our nationals. We are grateful to the government of Iran for this special gesture. We are also thankful to the government of Turkmenistan and Armenia for helping us evacuate our people," he said.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
India Rejects Joint Defense Statement at Key China-Led Summit
India declined to back a joint statement at the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization meet, marking a rare public rift within the security bloc and highlighting unresolved tensions following its near-war with Pakistan last month. 'On our side, India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document which was not acceptable to one particular country,' Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday, without naming any nation.
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Operation Sindhu: IAF evacuates 165 Indians from Jordan amid Israel-Iran conflict
New Delhi: A total of 165 Indian nationals were evacuated by the Indian Air Force under Operation Sindhu from Jordan, in an effort to get citizens back home safe amid the Israel-Iran conflict. The IAF's C-17 aircraft landed in Delhi today morning, and the passengers were welcomed by Minister of State L Murugan. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, informed about the flight in a post on X, adding, "An IAF C-17 flight evacuated 165 Indian nationals from Israel under Operation Sindhu. They were received by MoS Dr. L. Murugan upon arrival in Delhi. The aircraft landed at 0845 hrs on 24th June from Amman (Jordan)." Earlier, while talking about the arrival of the evacuees in Delhi's Palam airport, the IAF said that there are going to be missions in Egypt too. "In response to heightened tensions in conflict-affected areas in West Asia, IAF C-17 aircraft commenced missions from Jordan and Egypt to extricate Indian nationals and citizens of friendly countries. The IAF remains committed as first responders to provide assistance within the country and across the globe in times of need," the Air Force said in a post on X. "Today, the second aircraft from Israel came here, almost 165 passengers have landed here, we welcome them, the passengers are from 22 states, they are all students and doing various work. Our priority and Prime Minister Modi's priority is that wherever the war situation is there and our Indian diaspora people are stuck, the priority is to work to bring them in safely," L Murugan told ANI while receiving the passengers. Some of the passengers expressed how their experience of evacuation was quite good, with the Indian embassy in Jordan helping a lot to ensure that the people reached home. "The Indian government helped us a lot. For evacuation, we travelled to the Indian embassy in Jordan, even the embassy helped us a lot, overall a good half an hour before we left our place, there were sirens, bombings happening. Even when we reached the border of Israel, it was happening," one of the passengers, who had been evacuated with her daughter and husband, told ANI. Earlier on Tuesday, under Operation Sindhu, as many as 161 Indian nationals arrived in Delhi from Israel, with Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, welcoming them at the airport. Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the Israel leg of Operation Sindhu started on June 23. Jaiswal emphasised that the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad remain the government's highest priority. The conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 when the former launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, code-named "Operation Rising Lion". In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a large-scale drone and missile campaign called 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres. Tensions escalated further after the US conducted precision airstrikes early Sunday morning on three key Iranian nuclear facilities under "Operation Midnight Hammer". Iran retaliated by launching multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the region, CNN reported.
