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‘We have to wait for a level of trust’, Indian FM on visas for Afghan students
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has asked the Afghan students enrolled in Indian universities to wait for a “level of trust and efficiency” to come up to allow visas to be restarted.
Around 2,500 students in Afghanistan continue to wait for any movement from the Indian side to grant them visas to pursue their education in the country.
As the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took over the over the country in August last year, India suspended all visas. Since then, India has issued only about 300 visas and those have largely been for Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, minorities that have faced persecution.
India restarted its Afghan embassy operations in June, but it’s not full-fledged and has made no difference to the visa waitlist.
“We had a situation where we had to pull out our embassy, we did not even have a presence on the ground to verify what is what. At that time there was lot of uncertainty about whose passport was whose, whose visa was whose…these are real issues out there,” said Jaishankar, speaking at a session on “Rising India and the World” where an Afghan student studying in Gujarat asked the question about the fate of Afghan students seeking Indian visa.
“India’s feelings for Afghan people, nobody can doubt,” Jaishankar added, referring to India’s aid consignments of wheat, medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan despite a “lot of problems”, and asked the students “to wait for [a] level of trust and efficiency” to come up to allow visas to be restarted.
At present, an estimated 14,000 Afghan students are believed to be in India, studying at 73 universities.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan has signed a 30-year agreement with a private company to extract marble in Daikundi province.
Under the contract, the company will invest AFN 283 million in exploring and mining marble at the “Mesh-Uliya” site, spanning 16.74 square kilometers in central Daikundi.
Hedayatullah Badri, Minister of Mines and Petroleum, stated that the marble will be processed domestically before being exported abroad. He added that the Mesh-Uliya project is expected to create around 200 jobs, and the company is committed to supporting local communities through social initiatives.
Economic experts highlight that such investments, especially those focusing on domestic processing, are crucial for job creation, boosting exports, and strengthening the national economy. Analysts further note that the project will improve local infrastructure, expand social services, and enhance the economic and social well-being of Daikundi residents.
Since the return of the Islamic Emirate to power, efforts to develop Afghanistan’s mining sector have intensified, with multiple contracts signed in areas including cement, copper, iron, and lapis lazuli, involving both domestic and international companies.
A passenger bus veered off the Salang Highway before dawn on Sunday, leaving five people dead and 44 others injured, the Ministry of Public Works said.
According to the ministry, the incident occurred at around 2:00 a.m. in the Shawol area of North Salang when a passenger bus deviated from the main road due to the driver’s negligence.
Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works, said five passengers were killed and 44 others sustained injuries. He added that personnel from the Salang Maintenance and Protection Directorate promptly arrived at the scene and transferred the injured to the Khunjān clinic for medical treatment.
The Ministry of Public Works has urged drivers and passengers traveling on the Salang Highway to strictly follow the instructions of on-duty teams, observe traffic regulations, and carry warm clothing, food supplies, and snow chains to prevent similar incidents.
The ministry also noted that heavy snowfall and stormy weather have led to the temporary closure of the highway, while road maintenance teams are continuing snow-clearing operations.
Latest News
Major fire in Mandawi Kabul market contained, extensive losses prevented
Local shopkeepers said the fire broke out around 4 a.m.
The Ministry of Interior reported that personnel from the General Directorate of Firefighting and Emergency Response successfully prevented the further spread of a fire at Mandawi market on Kabul early Sunday morning.
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the ministry, said that the fire destroyed 10 storage facilities and 8 shops. He added that initial losses are estimated at around $700,000, but timely action by firefighting personnel saved property worth approximately $2.2 million.
Qani explained that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. He praised the rapid and effective containment operations, which prevented more extensive damage.
Local shopkeepers said the fire broke out around 4 a.m.
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