Srinagar, Mar 5: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Thursday urged External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to urgently intervene and facilitate the evacuation of Indian students stranded in Urmia in northwestern Iran amid ongoing explosions, airstrikes and escalating hostilities in the region. The association requested that the students be allowed safe passage through the Armenia border.
In a statement, JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami said the association has been in constant contact with several Indian, including Kashmiri, students studying at Urmia University, who have reported a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the area.
According to the students, repeated explosions and airstrikes have occurred close to their residential areas.
Khuehami said the situation has become increasingly volatile as some of the targeted locations in the surrounding areas reportedly include sensitive military installations and airbases, making the region particularly vulnerable to further strikes.
“In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation, we have urged the External Affairs Minister to facilitate the immediate evacuation of Indian students stranded in Urmia through the Armenia land route, which currently appears to be the most feasible and accessible corridor for safe passage,” he said.
He added that Armenia is geographically closer to Urmia and has previously served as a viable evacuation route during earlier regional tensions between Iran and Israel. According to the association, the route may provide a comparatively shorter and safer passage for students to exit Iran, from where they could board commercial flights to return to India.
JKSA also informed the Ministry of External Affairs that the stranded students are willing to bear their own travel expenses if necessary but require diplomatic facilitation from the Government of India to complete the evacuation process.
Khuehami said the students primarily need formal permission and travel authorisation from the Embassy of India in Tehran to enable them to safely cross into neighbouring countries through the Armenia route.
The association urged the Ministry and the Indian Embassy to coordinate with the relevant authorities in Iran and Armenia to arrange safe transit and provide the necessary documentation that would allow the students to temporarily enter Armenia before returning to India.
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