Afghan students in India worried about families back home

Chandigarh/Bengaluru/Pune: It has been sleepless nights and desperate efforts to contact their families back home for the thousands of Afghan students in educational institutions in various parts of India as they worry about the fate of their kin and country under the Taliban.

Many have also appealed to the Indian government to help their compatriots, who had gone back home due to the COVID-19-induced closure of educational institutions, to return to India and to extend their visas.

Shukrullah Ahamadi (25), who is pursuing an MBA from a private university in Pune, said he has not spoken to his family in Afghanistan for the last three days, a period which saw the fall of Kabul.

"The situation back home is terrifying and scary. We never imagined such kind of a situation. In my hometown in Logar province, which is hardly 50 km from Kabul, the Internet and telephone services are completely shut and I am not able to connect with my family," he said.

Ahamadi, whose immediate family comprises his mother and three elder brothers, had last gone to his hometown in 2018. He said the Indian government should extend the visas of students whose stay is coming to an end soon as going back to Afghanistan as this juncture is not safe.

Several NGOs as well authorities of educational institutions have come forward to help the students.

"In this hour of crisis, IIT Delhi stands in solidarity with our students and alumni from Afghanistan. We are doing everything possible to get the students to return to the campus. Let's give them hope," said IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao.

The institute has also announced helpline numbers for its Afghan students and alumni. Currently, 17 Afghan students are enrolled in various programmes at IIT Delhi and only one of them is in Delhi as the classes were being conducted online in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three Afghan students enrolled at IIT Madras are also stuck there.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay has also allowed Afghan students to return to its campus.

Sukhrullah, another Afghanistan student pursuing MBA at Chandigarh University, said many students were stuck in Afghanistan because of the closure of educational institutions in India due to COVID-19. He appealed to the Centre to take necessary steps to evacuate these students as soon as possible

Over 250 Afghanistan students are pursuing various courses at Chandigarh University.

Mustafa, a BBA student from Kabul, said, There are many Afghanistan students in India whose visas or passports were about to expire," and requested the Indian government to extend the visa period.