Over 60 Jammu and Kashmir students stranded in protest-hit Iran arrived safely in New Delhi on Saturday, following urgent demands from parents for their evacuation, officials confirmed.
The students were travelling on Air Arabia flight G9 214 from Shiraz International Airport to Sharjah International Airport, followed by a connecting flight, G9 463 from Sharjah, which landed at IGI Airport, Delhi, during the early morning hours on Saturday.
The protests have shown that the public mood is mixed, with more people feeling anxious over the situation, which they believe could escalate once again if the internet shutdown and the communication blackout continue across the country.
Media houses reported that “internet restrictions continue across most of Iran”, while the situation is somewhat normalising but remains tense, with no fresh protests reported in Tehran and other provinces since Friday.
The students who arrived back said that the situation on the ground was less concerning than what had been reported in the international media, suggesting inflated numbers of deaths and mass arrests.
The students also confirmed that “the ban on the internet continues to remain in place for the ninth consecutive day, which has triggered a panic-like situation in Tehran.”
“Life has returned to normal in the cities, and people have begun carrying out their daily routines. The real problem has been the internet shutdowns,” students who returned from Iran said.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that Indian citizens, mostly students, who are currently in the Islamic Republic, are being monitored closely. In the latest press briefing, the MEA Spokesperson said, “Our priority is the safety of our citizens abroad.”
While the international community has criticised the internet ban currently in place in the country, the Iranian government has said the restrictions are part of measures aimed at preventing violence and mass protests fuelled by the US and Israel.
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