Assures evacuation of Kashmiri students from Iran
Meeting condemns killing of Ayatollah Khamenei
Participants urge people to maintain peace, brotherhood
Srinagar, Mar 04: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday appealed to people in the Union Territory to express their anger and grief peacefully in the wake of recent developments in the Middle East, saying maintaining peace and communal harmony in the Valley was the collective responsibility of society.
Speaking to reporters after interacting with civil society members and senior religious leaders at SKICC, Omar said the meeting was convened to discuss the situation following the attack in Iran in which the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed along with several others.
“We invited members of civil society and some of our senior religious leaders to sit together and discuss the situation,” he said. “First of all, we expressed our condolences over the attack on Iran in which the Supreme Leader was martyred along with many others.”
The Chief Minister said the discussion focused primarily on how peace and brotherhood could be maintained in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the Valley.
“I would like to thank all members of civil society and the religious leaders who joined us,” he said, adding that the appeal from the meeting was clear: people should express their feelings but in a peaceful manner.
“We will express our anger, our condolences and our emotions,” Abdullah said. “Whether it is in mosques, shrines or imambaras, wherever we express them, we must do so peacefully.”
The CM said the message jointly issued by those present at the meeting was meant to resonate across Jammu and Kashmir and help ensure that the prevailing atmosphere remains calm. “That is the appeal that has gone out from all of us, and we hope that it will resonate with the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Omar said he had earlier met parents of Kashmiri students studying in Iran and discussed their safety amid the unfolding situation. “I met many parents before this meeting at my residence,” he said, adding that several students had already been moved to safer areas.
However, he said there were difficulties in evacuating two groups of students. “One group includes final-year students who are doing internships in hospitals. When the embassy contacted them, some of them said they were safe in hospitals and preferred to stay,” he said.
The second group comprises students between the fourth and fifth year of their courses who, according to him, were not being allowed to leave by their colleges. “I have been told about one or two medical colleges where students were told that if they leave now, the entire year will be wasted and they will have to repeat the year,” Omar said.
Calling this a potential injustice to the students, the Chief Minister said he would take up the matter with the Government of India.
“I will request the Government of India to raise this issue with the Iranian authorities through their ambassador and allow those children to leave,” he said, adding that the students could return once the situation improves.
“At present, no ships are operating there, and we cannot publicly discuss all land routes through which evacuations are being planned,” Omar said.
He urged families to trust the Ministry of External Affairs, saying the government had assured that efforts were underway to evacuate the students through neighbouring countries.
“They have taken responsibility and assured us that, through land routes via neighbouring countries, they will try to bring them back as soon as possible,” he said. “For now, the students have been moved to safer locations while evacuation efforts continue,” the CM said.
Earlier, in the wake of the prevailing situation in West Asia following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held an interaction with religious scholars, civil society members and representatives of trade and business bodies at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
The meeting was attended by Minister Sakeena Itoo, Minister Javaid Ahmad Dar, Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, several Members of the Legislative Assembly from across Kashmir, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg, IGP Kashmir V.K. Birdi, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Akshay Labroo and other senior officers of the divisional and district administration.
Prominent members of civil society, including religious leaders, social activists, retired bureaucrats, academics, educationists and representatives of trade bodies, participated in the interaction convened in the backdrop of the escalating war in West Asia and its possible aftermath in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the Valley.
The Chief Minister listened attentively to the concerns and suggestions raised by the participants and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to maintaining peace and ensuring the smooth functioning of essential services.
Participants expressed deep concern over the developments in the West Asia region, which have engulfed several countries, and conveyed their sympathies to those who lost their loved ones, particularly the targeted assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his family members.
During the meeting, the attendees urged the administration to deal with the protestors & mourners with sympathy and understanding while allowing gatherings to express grief, ensuring that public order is maintained. They also called for the release of detainees held in recent days and to quash FIRs against youth who were out on the streets only to grieve the death of their spiritual leader.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister expressed his grief and condolences over the loss of lives in Iran. He stated that the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “cannot be described in words.” He said that the late leader was a true sympathiser of the people of Kashmir and had always maintained cordial relations with India.
Recalling his visits to Iran twice, as Minister of State for External Affairs Government of India and as Special Envoy of PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, CM Omar Abdullah said that the ties of India with Iran have always been cordial. CM said that the late Iranian supreme leader was a friend of India and a true sympathiser of the people of Kashmir.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and harmony in Jammu and Kashmir while respecting the sentiments of the people and urged people to ensure that expressions of grief remain peaceful and responsible.
Highlighting the purpose of the interaction, he said it was intended to collectively express pain and sorrow over the recent developments and to make a joint appeal for peace. He called for collective condemnation, collective condolence and a joint commitment to maintaining calm during the mourning period.
He underscored the role of the administration and religious organisations in ensuring a peaceful atmosphere and stressed that no one should be harmed during condolence gatherings.
Regarding recent detentions and the filing of cases, the Chief Minister assured the participants that he would take up the matter at the highest level to adopt a soft and lenient approach. He said that he does not want that his people particularly youth should put themselves in harm’s way.
Responding to the issue of evacuation of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran, he said he has been in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs regarding their safety and safe return. He informed that the students are being shifted to safer locations for their onward journey through land route as flights stand cancelled in the region. He said that parents had met him for stranded students and in some cases students who are interns had refused to come back while some had been barred by medical colleges who have cautioned students that they shall lose one year and have to study academic session all over again in case they go back. CM assured that concerned college authorities in Iran would be requested through diplomatic channels to not to penalise students who want to return to India.
Some civil society members raised the issue of increase in prices of essentials, petrol and stressed the need for uninterrupted supply chains and proper functioning of key sectors such as health and power.
On essential supplies, the Chief Minister directed Deputy Commissioners to closely monitor stock and supply positions to prevent overpricing or hoarding and appealed to the public to bring any grievances to the notice of the administration.
Earlier, the meeting began with condolences over the demise of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, followed by Fateha prayers for the supreme leader of Iran, school girls and other who lost their lives in the strikes on Iran.
Several religious leaders & members of civil society spoke in the meeting to express their sentiments and concerns. Those who spoke included Molvi Imran Ansari, Aga Syed Mehmood, MLA Ali Muhammad Sagar, MLA Tanvir Sadiq, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, Syed Shakeel Qalandar, M Yaseen Khan, Mushtaq Chaya, Aga Syed Mudasir Rizvi,, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, Ms Tanvir Jehan, Dr Dechen Paljor, Jaspal Singh, G N War, MLA Mubarak Gul, Nasir Shah, Manzoor Pakhtoon, Shamim Ahmad Shah, Maulana Maqbool Hussain, Dr A G Ahangar, Iqram Shafie and others.
