How many Indians have returned since February 28? Know what information was given by the Ministry of External Affairs

New Delhi: Due to the changed circumstances after the attack by America and Israel on Iran, people are returning in large numbers from Gulf countries. Amidst the increasing conflict in West Asia, the Central Government said on Tuesday that since February 28, about 2.44 lakh people have returned to India from the region. At the inter-ministerial briefing held here on the situation in West Asia, Asim R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that so far five Indian citizens have died in this conflict, while one person is missing.

Dead bodies of two Indians brought to India

He said the mortal remains of two Indians who were killed in a recent incident in Sohar city of Oman were brought to India on Tuesday and handed over to their families in Jaipur. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Yesterday I had told that about 650 Indian citizens, including students, had reached Armenia and Azerbaijan from Iran to return home from there. Now about 50 more Indians have reached Armenia and some others have gone to Azerbaijan.”

284 Indians reached Armenia from Iran

He said, “284 pilgrims who had gone to Iran have also successfully reached Armenia. Of these, 130 pilgrims will reach Delhi today.” The Ministry of External Affairs said that its control room is fully active and is providing assistance to Indian citizens. Jaiswal said that there has been a significant decline in the number of incoming calls and emails.

We are in touch with all parties

On the question asked on the stand of ‘BRICS’, he said that this group works on the basis of consensus. BRICS is an influential grouping of the world’s major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. He said, “India is the chairperson of BRICS. Many BRICS member countries are directly involved in this conflict, so it has been challenging to bridge the gap in the stance of different countries. Still, we are in touch with all the parties.”

America and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February. In response to this attack, Iran attacked some Gulf countries with US military bases and blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz to put pressure on America and Israel. Regarding External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Brussels at the invitation of EU foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kalas, Jaiswal said he held high-level talks with the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states.

Appeal to all parties to exercise restraint

Jaiswal said, “Since the beginning of the conflict, India’s stance has been to adopt the path of dialogue and diplomacy. We have appealed to all countries to exercise restraint and not to escalate the conflict further.” Mahajan said that the Ministry of External Affairs is constantly monitoring the situation in West Asia and the Gulf region and the safety of Indians living there is the top priority. He said coordination is being done with state governments and union territories and Indian missions in the region are working round the clock. Mahajan said that around 65 flights operated from UAE to India on March 16, while around 70 flights are expected to operate on Tuesday. Flights are also continuing from Oman to various destinations in India. (Language)

Latest India News