Afghan students request extension of visas in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: Afghan students who are currently in their final year or those who are likely to complete their study course this year, have requested a visa extension for at least the next six months.
As many as 58 students are studying in the city and of them, 11 have returned home. Some of them are living with their family.
On the sidelines of this meeting, Nasir Ahmad Shafiei a PhD student told TOI, our major concern is the extension of visas and passport renewal. Visas of a few students, especially those in the final year, may expire by September, and a VISA extension for about six months would be useful. We also request the Indian government to grant Afghan graduated students, work permits and refugee status so that they overcome their problems, especially financial issues. We hope that the Indian government will grant humanitarian aid to help students and researchers who are stuck in Afghanistan so that they can come back and are not left out of the academic year.
The students said that nearly 100 students selected for educational support by the Indian government may be given emergency visas from Afghanistan to come here as the academic year is commencing. They hoped that the government would help students who want to go back to reunite with their families who are in Afghanistan.
A few students said that it was painful to see certain incidents and have had sleepless nights. They are mostly in touch with family through text messages. The women said that their dreams are destroyed. They came to India to study and later go back and work. They are worried about the future.
City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar assured all possible cooperation for their safety and their concerns would be shared with the state government. The state government appointed Additional DGP Umesh Kumar as the nodal officer to coordinate with the Central government for bringing back the people of the state stuck in Afghanistan.