Indian visa problem of Afghan students will be solved: Official

KABUL (Pajhwok): An official at the Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi has said that the Indian government has promised to issue visas to 2,500 new Afghan students holding Indian scholarships.

According to a Pajhwok report published on November 12, some of Afghan students were able to find their way to Indian higher education institutes after being offered scholarships while some others who had come to Kabul on vacations have been unable to obtain Indian visa.

In interviews with Pajhwok Afghan News, the students said that in the last two years, around 2,000 students were introduced to Indian scholarships but their fate was unknown as they were unable to get Indian visas.

They said that these students could not get Indian visas last year due to Covid-19 restrictions and also ongoing year due to political changes in the country.

The students say that Indian universities provide online classes; but some of them required physical presence of students in classes.

Abdul Haq Azad, spokesman for the Afghan Embassy in India, told Pajhwok that the Afghan ambassador was trying to find a solution to the visa problems of Afghan students who are succeeded to Indian scholarships.

Azad added that Afghan Ambassador to New Delhi FaridMamondzai had asked the Indian government to issue visas to 2,500 Afghan students waiting for visas in Afghanistan so that they could travel to India.

Indian officials have responded to the request of the Afghan envoy and said that their government would prioritize issuing visas to the Afghan students, he added.

He said that most of these students came to Afghanistan due to lockdowns and vacations.

After the regime change in Afghanistan, the Indian Ministry of Interior announced that it had revoked all previous visas issued to Afghan nationals and that only Afghans wishing to travel to India could apply for emergency e-visas online.

The Indian Ministry of Interior said in a statement that due to security situation in Afghanistan, India has introduced X-Misc electronic emergency visa to facilitate Afghans and asked all Afghans to use only the electronic visa facility when traveling to the country.

mds/ma

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