Three special Mahan Air flights have been arranged to evacuate approximately 1,000 Indian students, including around 500 from Jammu and Kashmir, from Mashhad, Iran to New Delhi.
According to JKSA’s National Convenor Nasir Khuehami, the evacuation has been granted a special exception despite ongoing airspace closures.
“Three Mahan Air flights will be operating between Mashhad and New Delhi over the next 24 hours. These flights will carry about 1,000 Indian students, with 500 of them from Kashmir,” Khuehami said.
The scheduled arrival times for the flights are Friday night at 11:30 PM IST, Saturday morning at 10:00 AM IST, and Saturday afternoon at 4:30 PM IST.
“290 students, majority from Kashmir, are set to arrive in New Delhi tonight on flight W50071Y as part of the ongoing evacuation operation,” Khuehamia said.
“We are deeply grateful to the Government of India, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar Indian Embassy for launching this timely evacuation effort and for reassuring anxious families back home during this period of uncertainty. We remain hopeful that all remaining students will be safely evacuated soon,” he said.
To facilitate seamless transit from Delhi to the Valley, Khuehami said, “Deluxe air-conditioned buses have been stationed at Delhi Airport to directly transport Kashmiri students to Srinagar’s Tourist Reception Centre (TRC).”
The arrangement comes following coordination with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Advisor, Nasir Aslam Wani, and senior official Nasir Sogami.
Necessary arrangements have been put in place and all relevant departments have been duly alerted to ensure smooth coordination upon the students’ arrival in Delhi.
The evacuation follows widespread concern over the safety of Indian students, particularly those from Kashmir, studying in Iran amidst escalating hostilities in the region following outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel.