Afghan students’ visa issue shared with Indian varsity

The Afghan embassy in India has informed the Punjab University administration about the Afghan students still stuck in their country due to the non-issuance of visas.

The embassy spotlighted the problem in an email addressed to the dean of international students, an Indian newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Afghans were informed earlier in the month that the end-semester examination for foreign students would be conducted offline.

The Times of India, citing the mail, reported flights between the two countries were suspended after last year’s political developments in Afghanistan.

As a result, the daily added, about 2,500 Afghans studying in different Indian universities had been stranded in Afghanistan.

“They have not been able to travel back to India due to non-availability of flights and visa restrictions,” the Times continued.

The students, who continued their classes online till February 2022, are yet to return to India, the university has resumed physical classes.

They expressed their inability to appear physically in the exams. The embassy urged the university to address their concerns by either permitting online examination or delaying offline exams.