NEW DELHI: The fate of nearly 2,500 Afghan students, who are enrolled across various univeristies in India, hangs in limbo as they haven’t been able to return for want of visas. These students returned to Afghanistan after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and haven’t been able to return since then.
Responding to when and whether these students will be facilitated for their return, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the delay was due to logistical issues as the Indian Embassy in Kabul had to be shut last year when the Taliban-led government took over in August 2021.
“No one can doubt India’s feelings for Afghans. We had a situation where we had to pull out our embassy, we did not even have a presence on the ground to verify what is what. At that time there was a lot of uncertainity about which passport was whose, whose visa was whose..these are real issues out there,’’ said S Jaishankar, while speaking to students in a session titled Rising India and the World in Vadodara. He responded to a query made by an Afghan student.
Jaishankar also highlighted the fact that India extended support to Afghanistan in the form of 50,000 mt of wheat, medicines and vaccines. “I know it is a difficult task, every country has to have a system with which they have faith and wait for that level of trust and efficiency to come out,’’ Jaishankar added.
When the Taliban-led government took over, India revoked all pre-existing visas issues too Afghan citizens and has announced an emergency e-visa scheme. Indian officials were inundated with requests but these emergency visas could only be extended to the around 300 people, most of whom were minority Hindus and Sikhs feeling the country.
Meanwhile, some Afghan students a few days back had protested in front of the Indian embassy in Kabul, seeking the attention of Indian authorities to facilitate their return. Afghan students have also been using social media with tags like #IssueVisaToAfghanStudents to highlight their plea and seek attention of PM Modi and Jaishankar for early redressal of their demand.
Jaishankar visited Gujarat’s Vadodara city on Saturday with at least 50 ambassadors and high commissioners to participate in the ongoing Navratri festival. Vadodara, known as the cultural capital of the state, is famous for its ‘garba’ events, which are attended by thousands of people who dance in a synchronised way to music and traditional songs in praise of the goddess.