Thousands of Afghan students study at Indian universities on SII (Study in India) or ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) scholarships. These students have completed part of their study program online and are asking the Indian government to grant them visas to complete their studies in person.

These Afghan students now believe that the Covid-19 lockdown has been lifted and they should be allowed to travel to India to attend their classes in person and complete their courses.

In August 2021, the Indian government announced a new type of electronic visa called “e-Emergency X-Misc Visa” to expedite Afghan visa applications, and all students applied for the electronic visa, with around 200 visas approved.

The students are pleading with the Indian government to issue visas to Afghan students from Indian universities who are desperate to pursue and complete their studies. They started an online petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it, and more than 500 students have already signed it.

The Free Press Journal has learned that colleges are to hold online courses and exams for Afghan students this year.

However, Afghan students are worried. Many Indian colleges still have not provided online course setup. According to Abdul Naib Sediqi, a fourth semester student at BCA, “Our university does not answer our calls. contact the ICCR about this.”

Nizakat Hassani, a student from the University of Pune, said: “We Afghan students have suffered a lot, we are asking the Indian government to kindly issue visas.

“We students are sacrificing because of politics,” said Afghan student Sulaiman Aslami. “We have been soliciting the Indian government for a long time now,” he added.

The students have been stranded in Afghanistan since August 2021, when the Taliban took control of the country.

Posted: Monday May 16th 2022, 08:36 IST