Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday urged students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Iran to follow the Union government’s advisory and return home while commercial travel remains operational.
In its latest advisory, the Embassy of India asked its citizens to “leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights.” The advisory comes in the wake of Saturday’s protests in Iran following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies.
“I would tell them that please do not ignore this advisory from the government of India, because it otherwise becomes an issue for us,” Abdullah told reporters in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir.
The chief minister said the situation in Iran is currently stable, with airports open and commercial flights operating.
“I appeal to all the students and those who work there, who do not ignore this advisory, book your tickets and leave Iran,” he said.
“The Ministry of External Affairs has not issued this advisory unnecessarily. If, God forbid, the situation worsens, then it will be an issue for us as to how to evacuate them. So, I appeal to them to take the advisory seriously and leave from there,” he added.
To a question on the alleged harassment and eviction threats faced by Kashmiri students studying at CT University in Punjab, the chief minister said he would raise the issue with his counterpart in Punjab.
“I will talk to the Punjab chief minister on this. It must be the University’s doing, because the government of Punjab has always supported Jammu and Kashmir. I can say with certainty that the Punjab government will not allow this, and the University will be asked about it,” he said, adding, if any Kashmiri student is facing such difficulties, it will be addressed.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister inaugurated and laid foundation stones for major development projects worth Rs 84.41 crore in Ganderbal — the constituency Abdullah represents in the assembly.
These projects include Rs 7.70 crore for beautification and development of Ganderbal town, Rs 7.50 crore for road widening, Rs 8.40 crore for installation of a CT scan machine at the District Hospital, and several water supply schemes — giving a major push to healthcare, sanitation, water supply, roads and urban infrastructure in Ganderbal in central Kashmir.