Calls grow to evacuate Kashmiri students stranded in Iran amid escalating conflict

Attacks near student hostels and campuses have reportedly forced some students to hide in basements and triggered distress calls home.

Srinagar: Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the calls for the Central government to evacuate Kashmiri students, stranded in war‑torn Iran have grown louder.

With widespread US and Israeli airstrikes and blasts reported across Tehran, Qom and other cities, students and parents say fear for personal safety has reached critical levels.

Kashmiri students, many enrolled in medical and other professional courses, have described life in Iran as increasingly precarious.

Despite the Indian Embassy in Tehran relocating many students to safer areas, including Qom, attacks near student hostels and campuses have reportedly forced some to hide in basements and triggered distress calls home.

In Srinagar, anxious parents staged protests and submitted petitions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Dr  S. Jaishankar, the Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister, urging swift action to bring their children home.

Student organisations such as the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) and the All India Medical Students Association have repeatedly appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs to accelerate evacuation plans and open secure transit routes, including via Armenia.

Political leaders have also stepped up pressure on the Centre. People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti urged the Prime Minister to personally intervene to ensure a safe return for students as hostilities intensify.

Highlighting the financial and logistical strain on families, PDP leader Zuhaib Yosuf Mir took to social media with a detailed appeal: “Reports from Indian students stranded in Iran are deeply concerning. They’re being told to travel to Armenia and then arrange their own flights to Delhi costing nearly ₹1.5 lakh per ticket, separate visa costs, which many simply cannot afford.”

He said during the Ukraine war, India spent over ₹116 crore to bring back its citizens.

“….Evacuating around 1,200 to 1,300 students today would cost roughly ₹20 crore, surely a manageable amount when lives and safety are at stake. Students should not be pressured to pay such huge sums in a crisis. We pay taxes expecting protection and support in emergencies. Many students from J&K are also stranded. Requesting @narendramodi, @PMOIndia, @AmitShah, @DrSJaishankar, @OfficeOfLGJandK to urgently step in and ensure safe and affordable evacuation for every stranded student.”

Despite the urgency, government officials have cautioned that large‑scale evacuation remains complex amid ongoing hostilities and airspace closures. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the Centre and UT government remain in constant touch with the embassy and other authorities but described the situation as “challenging” for full evacuation at present.

Many of the students now stranded had previously been part of “Operation Sindhu” in June 2025, when India evacuated thousands of its nationals from conflict‑affected zones in Iran through Armenia and Turkmenistan, bringing them safely home.

At that time, significant numbers — including many from Kashmir — chose to return to Iran after a brief period because of academic commitments and assurances from universities, leaving them once again vulnerable as the war revived.

With roughly 1,200–1,300 students currently in Iran, families, student bodies and political leaders are urging immediate government action, arguing that ensuring the safety of Indian citizens abroad should be a top priority — and that cost should not be a barrier in crises of this scale.