JNU ‘looking into requests’ from Afghan students to facilitate their return

New Delhi: Amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Saturday said it has received requests from some Afghan students to facilitate their return to the campus and has assured them that the matter is being looked into.

This comes after the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) had written to the varsity’s vice-chancellor on Friday, asking him to grant Afghan students the necessary permissions for their visa, along with hostel accommodation on an urgent basis and facilitate their return in view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

“Some Afghan students of JNU have requested the JNU administration to facilitate their return to the campus.

“As the university has remained closed as per the latest circular issued by DDMA, Govt of NCT, Delhi, this matter is currently being looked into,” the varsity’s Registrar, Professor Ravikesh, said on Saturday.

The Taliban seized a province just south of Afghanistan’s capital and launched a multi-pronged assault early Saturday on a major city in the north defended by powerful former warlords, Afghan officials said.

The insurgents have captured much of northern, western and southern Afghanistan in a breakneck offensive less than three weeks before the United States is set to withdraw its last troops, raising fears of a full militant takeover or another Afghan civil war.

The JNUSU had on Friday cited the situation in Afghanistan and said multiple students had reached out to them for assistance on an urgent basis.

“While other universities in Delhi have granted students in similar circumstances the requisite permissions for their student visa, the Jawaharlal Nehru University has not yet given any necessary support to its students from Afghanistan.

“The students in question have also written to the Dean of Students and other officials multiple times but have not yet received any reply at all,” it had said.

The students’ body had said female Afghan students will have to leave their education entirely if they are not provided the requisite documentation on time.