Srinagar, June 19: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that the government is actively coordinating with the Union Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the safe evacuation of students from Jammu and Kashmir stranded in Iran amid the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Samba, the Chief Minister said that there are around 1300 to 1400 students from Jammu and Kashmir. “We are evacuating them one by one. Yesterday we brought back about 90 students, and today around 300 to 400 are being evacuated.”
He added that no airports or ports are operational in Iran at the moment, and students are being moved to Armenia for evacuation. “A few days ago, I spoke to the Foreign Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar. We prepared a plan, and accordingly, students were now being brought back,” he said.
He also appreciated the efforts of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in bringing back the students from the war-torn country and said they are being evacuated under a plan as ports and airports are closed.
The Chief Minister said this was a collective responsibility. “These children went there to study. Their parents are naturally worried. If I were in their place, I would have been worried too,” he said.
Speaking on the increased demand for rail services in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said tickets for the coming month are nearly unavailable. “I have spoken to the Union Rail Minister about increasing the frequency of trains or adding more carriages to accommodate the growing demand,” he said.
Speaking on the tourism sector, the Chief Minister said the situation in Kashmir has improved compared to the previous month. “I want to thank all the tourists who came to Jammu and Kashmir and also the pilgrims to Mata Vaishnodevi. Currently, more than 40,000 pilgrims are visiting every day,” he said, expressing optimism for sustained tourist arrivals in the months ahead.
In response to growing criticism, the Office of the J&K Chief Minister issued a statement saying that CM Omar Abdullah had taken note of the concerns and had directed the Resident Commissioner in Delhi to coordinate with JKRTC for arranging deluxe sleeper buses.
“The government is making arrangements for their smooth journey home,” he said in a post on X.
