New Delhi, June 19: Around 600 Indian students, including nearly 500 from Jammu and Kashmir, have safely reached Mashhad from Qom as part of India’s ongoing evacuation operation in Iran, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said on Wednesday.
This marks the second group of students who had been relocated to Qom earlier, where they were sheltered for three days before being moved further amid escalating regional tensions.
Mashhad, situated near Iran’s northeastern border, lies about 1,000 kilometers from Qom — a distance covered over a 15-hour road journey. The students, who belong to multiple institutions such as Islamic Azad University, Iran University of Medical Sciences, and Shahed Beheshti University, are expected to be taken to Turkmenistan next.
From there, arrangements are underway to fly them to Delhi, with the first flights anticipated to depart tomorrow.
The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said they are in constant contact with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Iran to ensure the safety and timely evacuation of the students amid the ongoing conflict in the region.