Omar Abdullah, Farooq laud Centre's efforts to bring back students from Iran

Samba/Jammu, Jun 19 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there are 1,300 to 1,400 students from the Union Territory in Iran, while 6,000 to 8,000 people belong to the entire country.

He appreciated the efforts of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in bringing back the students from the war-torn country and said they are being evacuated under a plan as ports and airports are closed. National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah praised the efforts of the central government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing back Indian citizens from war-torn Iran.

"This is our responsibility. Our children had gone there to pursue education.

"The situation deteriorated, and naturally, their parents were worried. If I were in their place, I would have been worried too. The students themselves wanted to leave from there," Abdullah told reporters here.

He further said a few days ago, he spoke with Jaishankar and a plan was created. "Under that plan, these children are now being brought back. No airports there are open. Every port is closed. So, the plan is to evacuate them overland via Armenia," he said.

Abdullah assured that all the students would be brought back and added, "Yesterday, we brought back around 90 students and today about 300–400 more are being evacuated. We will get them out quickly. About 1,300 to 1,400 students are from Jammu and Kashmir, and overall, between 6,000 to 8,000 are from the entire country." Replying to another question about the apology from the Tata Group regarding the aircraft incident, he said, "Accountability will be fixed. Who says it won't be? "Right now, we don't even know how the plane crashed. We are too quick to analyse. Neither do we know how to fly a plane nor how to build one, but many of us sit in studios or on social media and comment on things we don't fully understand." He said initially people blamed the pilot for not lowering the flaps, saying it was his fault. "Then someone said it wasn't the pilot's fault but an engine failure. Then someone else gave a different theory. We need to wait." Abdullah said both black boxes have been recovered and an inquiry has begun. "After that, action will be taken and steps will be implemented to ensure that such an incident doesn't happen again." Replying to a question on the post-Pahalgam situation, he said the situation is not the same as it was a month ago. "I want to thank the tourists who have started coming to Jammu and Kashmir. The number of pilgrims to Mata Vaishno Devi, which had declined, is also gradually increasing.

"Over 40,000 pilgrims are coming daily to visit Mata Vaishno Devi. The number of tourists in Kashmir is also rising significantly," the chief minister said.

He further said although the main tourist season of May and June may have passed, efforts will be made to ensure that the upcoming season sees a healthy flow of tourists.

Farooq Abdullah praised the efforts of the central government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing back Indian citizens from Iran. "Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have done a very good job of bringing back people. The remaining ones will also be brought back. A great job was done by them," he said.

On the Israel-Iran conflict, the NC chief said no war is good for humans as wars have their bad consequences. Nothing can come out of wars, he added. PTI AB KSS KSS