New Delhi: Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the government on Tuesday said around 2.44 lakh people have returned from the region to India since February 28.
At an inter-ministerial briefing here on the West Asia situation, Additional Secretary (Gulf), Aseem R Mahajan, also said that five Indian nationals have lost their lives so far amid this conflict.
One is missing in an earlier incident, while the mortal remains of two Indians who died in an incident in Oman’s Sohar city recently were repatriated to India on Tuesday and have been received by their families in Jaipur.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Yesterday, I had told you that some 650 people, Indian nationals, students included, had crossed over from Iran into Armenia and Azerbaijan, and from there to come back home. To that figure of 650 or so, we have 50 more Indian nationals who have crossed over to Armenia, and a few more in addition to Azerbaijan.”
“Yesterday, I also gave an update on 284 pilgrims who had gone to Iran. They successfully crossed over to Armenia yesterday. Of those 284 pilgrims, 130 will be arriving in Delhi (later) today,” he added.
The MEA said its Control Room remains fully functional, supporting the needs of the Indian nationals. Jaiswal said the number of calls or emails has reduced significantly.
On a query on the BRICS’ stand on the West Asia conflict, the MEA spokesperson reiterated that the grouping works on the basis of consensus.
“In BRICS, we hold the presidency. BRICS works on the basis of consensus. As you know, in this particular ongoing conflict, there are several members of BRICS who are involved in it. And for that reason, it has been difficult to bridge the gap between the positions that countries have taken. But we remain, continue to be engaged with all the stakeholders,” Jaiswal said.
The BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025.