The Afghan students studying at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have expressed concern over the fragile socio-political situation back home and appealed to the Indian government and university administration for support.
University sources said 23 Afghan students were enrolled in different courses out of which 15 were at present in the country. “The Vice-Chancellor has assured all possible help and cooperation,” said Syed Ali Nawaz Zaidi, adviser, foreign students. “A delegation of students met the proctor and expressed concern over the political instability in the country and its impact on banking and telecommunication services. They urged the government and university administration to help the students who had gone back home during the COVID-19 lockdown in getting the visa for India so that they could continue their studies,” said Dr. Zaidi, adding that some of the students were married and were concerned about the safety of their families.
The university’s association with Afghanistan goes back to Bharat Ratna Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the secular Pashtun leader of the Freedom Movement, who was an alumnus of the Mohammden Anglo-Oriental College that later became the AMU.
Reflecting on the evolving situation, a post-graduate student of Tajik origin who did not want to be named expressed fear that Pashtuns would target other ethnic groups such as the Tajiks and the Hazaras. “The majority of the Taliban are Pashtuns and recent events suggest that they are in dialogue with the Pashtun leaders of the previous dispensation,” he said.
His brother is studying at Hyderabad’s Osmania University and took the last flight of Air India out of Kabul. “The situation is getting worse as banking and telecommunication services are badly hit. My father who worked for a U.N. agency has left the country. I have put in an application requesting an extension for the payment of fees,” he said, fearing for the plight of his other family members.
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He held President Ashraf Ghani responsible for the present crisis. “If he had to leave the country, he should have put in his papers a month back. It would have given the civilians an opportunity to plan their escape,” he said, adding it seemed the President even kept his Deputy Amrullah Saleh, a Tajik, in the dark.
Sher Ali, a Pashtun, who is a student of engineering said it was not about regional identities. “Taliban are united by an extremist interpretation of Islam and that they don’t spare those Pashtuns as well who don’t abide by their rules.”
Mr. Ali said the Taliban had support in the areas that share a border with Pakistan. “They have support in the mountainous regions where development has not reached.”
Studying on scholarship under an Indian Council of Cultural Relations programme, Mr. Ali hails from Kunar province, in the north-east part of the country. “My father who was in government service has left the country and my other family members are in a secure place. I have a scholarship but many of my friends don’t. We are collecting money for them.”
He felt unlike during their previous avatar, the Taliban now would not target leaders of previous government and women. “It seems they want to improve their global image but one can’t be sure about those who worked for the previous government or the NATO forces,” he said.
The students feared that the world media would only be watching out for the safety of Afghan leaders, the plight of common civilians, particularly in provinces that were far from Kabul, would be out of their radar.