Tag: ministry of external affairs

  • ‘Misplaced, Misinformed And Unwarranted’: MEA Rejects US Remarks On CAA |

    NEW DELHI: The Government of India (GoI) on Friday categorically rejected the remarks made by the US State Department that it will ”closely monitor” the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country. Registering strong objections to the remarks made by the US State Department, the Ministry Of External Affairs called it “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted”.  

    Addressing a press conference on a wide range of issues including the CAA, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The CAA is about giving citizenship, not about taking away citizenship. It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human dignity and supports human rights.” Calling the Citizenship Amendment Act an ”internal matter”, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said the law is in line with India’s inclusive traditions and long-standing commitment to human rights. 

    ”The CAA grants safe haven to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who have entered India on or before December 31 2014,” he added.

     

    #WATCH | On CAA, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “As you are well aware, the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is an internal matter of India and is in keeping with India’s inclusive traditions and a long-standing commitment to human rights. The act grants a safe haven to… pic.twitter.com/cJBiDvI7JU


    — ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2024

     

    The MEA official further stated, “As regards the US State Department’s statement on the implementation of the CAA, we are of the view that it is misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted,” 

    The response from the MEA came shortly after the US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said, “We are concerned… we are closely monitoring this law (and) how it will be implemented.”  Miller made these remarks when asked how the CAA could affect religious freedom in India. 

    “Respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles,” Miller added.

    The Centre implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 on Monday, reducing the qualification period of application for citizenship from 11 to 5 years for eligible migrants who came to India before December 31, 2014.

    The government also came out with a press statement to say that Indian Muslims need not worry as the CAA will not impact their citizenship and has nothing to do with the community which enjoys equal rights as their Hindu counterparts.

  • ‘Operation Ajay’ continues to bring citizens home, 2nd flight carrying 235 Indians arrives at Delhi

    By Online Desk

    The Second charter flight to repatriate Indian citizens stranded in Israel amid the ongoing war landed in New Delhi on Saturday morning under ‘Operation Ajay’, the Ministry of External Affairs said. 

    A total of 235 Indian Nationals, including two infants, arrived on the second flight. 

    #OperationAjay continues to bring citizens home.2nd flight carrying 235 citizens arrives in New Delhi. MoS @RanjanRajkuma11 received the citizens at the airport. pic.twitter.com/W3ItmHgwf3
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 14, 2023
    On Friday, 212 Indians were flown out from Israel in the first repatriation exercise under ‘Operation Ajay’.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared pictures of the second repatriation of the stranded citizens on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: “#OperationAjay Flight #2 carrying 235 Indian nationals takes off from Tel Aviv.”

    #OperationAjayFlight #2 carrying 235 Indian nationals takes off from Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/avrMHAJrT4
    — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 13, 2023
    The government launched ‘Operation Ajay’ on October 11 to bring back stranded citizens from Israel. This came after Air India and other airlines suspended all its commercial operations to and from Israel as the war began on October 7. Under this operation, specially chartered flights will bring back the Indians. 

    MEA sets up control room, issues helpline numbers

    The ministry of External Affairs has set up a 24-hour control room in Delhi to monitor the situation in Israel and Palestine. The phone numbers for the control room are 1800118797 (toll-free), +91-11 23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905 and +919968291988, while the email ID is [email protected].

    The Indian embassy’s 24-hour emergency helpline can also be accessed at – +972-35226748 and +972-543278392, and the email ID [email protected]. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    The Second charter flight to repatriate Indian citizens stranded in Israel amid the ongoing war landed in New Delhi on Saturday morning under ‘Operation Ajay’, the Ministry of External Affairs said. 

    A total of 235 Indian Nationals, including two infants, arrived on the second flight. 

    #OperationAjay continues to bring citizens home.
    2nd flight carrying 235 citizens arrives in New Delhi. MoS @RanjanRajkuma11 received the citizens at the airport. pic.twitter.com/W3ItmHgwf3googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 14, 2023
    On Friday, 212 Indians were flown out from Israel in the first repatriation exercise under ‘Operation Ajay’.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared pictures of the second repatriation of the stranded citizens on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: “#OperationAjay Flight #2 carrying 235 Indian nationals takes off from Tel Aviv.”

    #OperationAjay
    Flight #2 carrying 235 Indian nationals takes off from Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/avrMHAJrT4
    — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 13, 2023
    The government launched ‘Operation Ajay’ on October 11 to bring back stranded citizens from Israel. This came after Air India and other airlines suspended all its commercial operations to and from Israel as the war began on October 7. Under this operation, specially chartered flights will bring back the Indians. 

    MEA sets up control room, issues helpline numbers

    The ministry of External Affairs has set up a 24-hour control room in Delhi to monitor the situation in Israel and Palestine. The phone numbers for the control room are 1800118797 (toll-free), +91-11 23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905 and +919968291988, while the email ID is [email protected].

    The Indian embassy’s 24-hour emergency helpline can also be accessed at – +972-35226748 and +972-543278392, and the email ID [email protected]. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Operation Ajay: First flight carrying 212 Indian nationals from strife-torn Israel lands at Delhi Airport 

    By PTI

    In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, the first flight bringing 212 Indian nationals back from Israel successfully landed at Delhi Airport on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

    India has launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of those Indians who wish to come back home as a series of brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants over the weekend has triggered fresh tensions in the region.

    Welcome to the homeland!1st #OperationAjay flight carrying 212 citizens touches down in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/FOQK2tvPrR
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 13, 2023
    “We are thankful to India… Most of the students were a little bit panicked. Suddenly we saw some notifications and links for every Indian citizen through the embassy of India which boosted our morale. We felt like the embassy of India was connected with us which was a kind of relief to us. And then we got all the arrangements,” Shubham Kumar, a student in Israel, told news agency PTI.

    Earlier on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The first charter flight will reach Tel Aviv later tonight to pick up Indian citizens and is likely to return to India tomorrow morning.”

    He said around 18,000 Indians are currently residing in Israel while about a dozen odd people are in the West Bank and three to four are in Gaza.

    “The external affairs minister took a preparatory meeting earlier in the day. We are in touch with our embassy in Tel Aviv, our representative office in Ramallah as well as with our missions in the neighbouring countries, particularly Jordan, Syria and Egypt,” Bagchi said.

    “We are keeping a close watch on developments as well as what steps we need to take to assist the Indian citizens who are in Israel,” he added.

    READ MORE | Israel-Hamas war: Displaced people’s count shoots up from 3,000 to 35,000 in five days

    Asked about reports of one Indian caregiver from Kerala sustaining injuries in the attacks by Hamas, he said: “We are aware of that case. The person is in the hospital and improving.”

    Bagchi said more chartered flights will be arranged to bring back the Indians. At the same time, he said it will depend on the number of people expressing a desire to return home.

    He said there was no report of any Indian casualty so far.

    Military officials said the Indian Air Force has kept its transport aircraft on standby for any possible deployment to bring back the Indians from Israel.

    The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left around 2,600 people dead. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks by Hamas.

    The sudden escalation in hostilities between Israel and Palestine has triggered global concerns. Leading powers like Germany, the US, France and the UK emphasised the importance of preventing the situation from further escalation.

    ALSO READ | Israel-Hamas war LIVE | Israel says no water or fuel to Gaza until hostages are freed Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, the first flight bringing 212 Indian nationals back from Israel successfully landed at Delhi Airport on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

    India has launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of those Indians who wish to come back home as a series of brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants over the weekend has triggered fresh tensions in the region.

    Welcome to the homeland!
    1st #OperationAjay flight carrying 212 citizens touches down in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/FOQK2tvPrRgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 13, 2023
    “We are thankful to India… Most of the students were a little bit panicked. Suddenly we saw some notifications and links for every Indian citizen through the embassy of India which boosted our morale. We felt like the embassy of India was connected with us which was a kind of relief to us. And then we got all the arrangements,” Shubham Kumar, a student in Israel, told news agency PTI.

    Earlier on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The first charter flight will reach Tel Aviv later tonight to pick up Indian citizens and is likely to return to India tomorrow morning.”

    He said around 18,000 Indians are currently residing in Israel while about a dozen odd people are in the West Bank and three to four are in Gaza.

    “The external affairs minister took a preparatory meeting earlier in the day. We are in touch with our embassy in Tel Aviv, our representative office in Ramallah as well as with our missions in the neighbouring countries, particularly Jordan, Syria and Egypt,” Bagchi said.

    “We are keeping a close watch on developments as well as what steps we need to take to assist the Indian citizens who are in Israel,” he added.

    READ MORE | Israel-Hamas war: Displaced people’s count shoots up from 3,000 to 35,000 in five days

    Asked about reports of one Indian caregiver from Kerala sustaining injuries in the attacks by Hamas, he said: “We are aware of that case. The person is in the hospital and improving.”

    Bagchi said more chartered flights will be arranged to bring back the Indians. At the same time, he said it will depend on the number of people expressing a desire to return home.

    He said there was no report of any Indian casualty so far.

    Military officials said the Indian Air Force has kept its transport aircraft on standby for any possible deployment to bring back the Indians from Israel.

    The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left around 2,600 people dead. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks by Hamas.

    The sudden escalation in hostilities between Israel and Palestine has triggered global concerns. Leading powers like Germany, the US, France and the UK emphasised the importance of preventing the situation from further escalation.

    ALSO READ | Israel-Hamas war LIVE | Israel says no water or fuel to Gaza until hostages are freed Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Fake job rackets luring Indians to Southeast Asian countries, many trapped: Centre

    By Online Desk

    The Ministry of External Affairs has said that many Indian youths lured by fake job recruitment offers were trapped in Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

    Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha that a total of 414 Indians were trapped by firms promising fake IT jobs in Myanmar and 292 of them have been repatriated to India. 

    The Indian mission in Cambodia also rescued over 180 Indian nationals trapped in similar scams and repatriated them to India.

    “Since July 2022, our missions in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia have issued various detailed advisories, upon receiving information that Indian nationals were being entrapped in fake job rackets, to alert the job seekers, and advised them to verify all antecedents of recruiting agents and companies before accepting an employment offer and not be enticed and entrapped in fraudulent job offers in these countries,” the minister said.

    “The ministry in coordination with the Indian missions/posts abroad and offices of Protector of Emigrants in India takes quick and decisive action whenever instances of exploitation of job seekers by illegal agents come to notice. A list of 2,548 illegal agents has been notified on the eMigrate portal. This information is regularly updated based on complaints filed by aggrieved individuals,” said Muraleedharan.

    “Complaints against illegal agents and dubious IT firms luring Indian youths with false recruitment offers through various channels are regularly shared with the respective state governments for suitable action against the culprits under extant laws,” added the minister, while responding to a question by MPs Pramod Tiwari, S Kalyanasundaram, M Mohamed Abdulla and Dr Kirodi Lal Meena.

    Fifteen Indian nationals duped by fake job offers from crime syndicates in Myanmar were repatriated on Wednesday according to the Embassy of India in Yangon. Earlier, in March 2023, eight Indians who were victims of such syndicates were repatriated from the Southeast Asian country.

    @IndiainMyanmar today repatriated 15 more Indian nationals who were victims of job offers of transnational crime syndicates in Myanmar. They left Yangon for Delhi from where they would go to their respective native places in India.@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/NIZeKhauBI

    — India in Myanmar (@IndiainMyanmar) July 26, 2023

    The Ministry of External Affairs has said that many Indian youths lured by fake job recruitment offers were trapped in Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

    Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha that a total of 414 Indians were trapped by firms promising fake IT jobs in Myanmar and 292 of them have been repatriated to India. 

    The Indian mission in Cambodia also rescued over 180 Indian nationals trapped in similar scams and repatriated them to India.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Since July 2022, our missions in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia have issued various detailed advisories, upon receiving information that Indian nationals were being entrapped in fake job rackets, to alert the job seekers, and advised them to verify all antecedents of recruiting agents and companies before accepting an employment offer and not be enticed and entrapped in fraudulent job offers in these countries,” the minister said.

    “The ministry in coordination with the Indian missions/posts abroad and offices of Protector of Emigrants in India takes quick and decisive action whenever instances of exploitation of job seekers by illegal agents come to notice. A list of 2,548 illegal agents has been notified on the eMigrate portal. This information is regularly updated based on complaints filed by aggrieved individuals,” said Muraleedharan.

    “Complaints against illegal agents and dubious IT firms luring Indian youths with false recruitment offers through various channels are regularly shared with the respective state governments for suitable action against the culprits under extant laws,” added the minister, while responding to a question by MPs Pramod Tiwari, S Kalyanasundaram, M Mohamed Abdulla and Dr Kirodi Lal Meena.

    Fifteen Indian nationals duped by fake job offers from crime syndicates in Myanmar were repatriated on Wednesday according to the Embassy of India in Yangon. Earlier, in March 2023, eight Indians who were victims of such syndicates were repatriated from the Southeast Asian country.

    @IndiainMyanmar today repatriated 15 more Indian nationals who were victims of job offers of transnational crime syndicates in Myanmar. They left Yangon for Delhi from where they would go to their respective native places in India.@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/NIZeKhauBI

    — India in Myanmar (@IndiainMyanmar) July 26, 2023

  • India stands with people of Sri Lanka: Ministry of External Affairs

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In its first reaction to the flurry of fast-paced developments in Colombo, India on Sunday said it stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means, values and constitutional framework.

    Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India continues to closely follow the developments in Sri Lanka and that it is aware of the many challenges that the country and its people have been facing.

    Embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday announced that he will resign after angry protesters stormed his official residence and set Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence on fire.

    “We are aware of the many challenges that Sri Lanka and its people have been facing, and we have stood with the Sri Lankan people as they have tried to overcome this difficult period,” Bagchi said.

    “India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established institutions and constitutional framework,” he said.

    He also referred to India’s financial aid to help the island country deal with its severe economic crisis.

    “In pursuance of the central place that Sri Lanka occupies in our Neighbourhood First policy, India has extended this year itself an unprecedented support of over USD 3.8 billion for ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka,” Bagchi said.

  • ‘Biased and inaccurate’: India slams US panel on religion for ‘misrepresenting’ facts

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Saturday slammed the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for its “biased” and “inaccurate” comments on the country.

    The strong reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came a day after the USCIRF alleged “repression” of critical voices, especially religious minorities and those reporting on and advocating for them in India.

    “We have seen the biased and inaccurate comments on India by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF),” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

    He said the comments reflect a “severe lack of understanding” of India and its constitutional framework, its plurality and its democratic ethos.

    “Regrettably, USCIRF continues to misrepresent facts time and again in its statements and reports in pursuance of its motivated agenda. Such actions only serve to strengthen concerns about the credibility and objectivity of the organisation,” Bagchi said.

    He was replying to media queries on USCIRF’s comments on India.

  • Fugitive offenders need to be brought to book: External Affairs Ministry ahead of Modi-Johnson talks

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India has been repeatedly highlighting the need to bring economic fugitives to justice as well as security concerns that may emanate from individuals who harbour anti-India positions, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with his British counterpart Boris Johnson.

    The remarks by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing came in response to a question on whether the Indian side would bring up the issue of fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya and Khalistan during talks with Johnson on Friday.

    Bagchi, however, added that he does not know whether or in what context these issues could come up, if at all, during the talks between Modi and Johnson. “As part of our agenda, we have been repeatedly highlighting the need to bring economic fugitives to justice and I have said this from this forum many times, as well as security concerns that may emanate from individuals who may harbour anti-India positions,” Bagchi said.

    “That is part of our discussions on various platforms. I do not know how or in what context it will come up, if at all, I think we should leave that to the leaders,” he added. Speaking about the visit, Bagchi said, “We are looking forward to it as a productive visit…we had a very successful summit last year.”

    He said that he cannot speculate on what the leaders would discuss during the meeting. “He (Johnson) is in Gujarat and has been given a very warm welcome by the government of Gujarat. He has already done a few engagements during the day, including to Saraswati. He has travelled to India before but this his first visit to India as the prime minister. We look forward to that very much,” Bagchi said.

    A major focus of Johnson’s talks with Modi will be on the situation in the Indo-Pacific as the United Kingdom is strongly opposed to any kind of coercion in the region, people familiar with the development had said.

    Johnson is scheduled to arrive in Delhi later this evening.

  • India pursuing release of 83 missing personnel including PoWs of 1965, 71 wars from Pakistan: Centre

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that there are 83 missing defence personnel including 62 Prisoners of the War of 1965 and 1971 for whom India is seeking their release and repatriation from Pakistan through diplomatic and other available channels.

    The government through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has filed an affidavit on a plea filed by the mother of an Army officer Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee seeking direction to the Centre to take immediate steps through diplomatic channels for repatriation of her son, who is lodged in jail in Pakistan for over 24 years.

    The plea said the petitioner had received information that Sanjit, who was commissioned as an officer of Gorkha Rifles Regiment of the Indian Army in August 1992, was lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

    The petitioner said that her family was informed in April 1997 that her son, who had gone for patrolling duty at night time on a joint border in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, was apprehended by the Pakistan authorities while carrying out operation reconnaissance along the international borders on April 20.

    The government in its affidavit attached the annexure of Note Verbale dated March 8, 2021, in which it referred to several Notes Verbales issued by the High Commission of India in Pakistan and the list of 83 missing Indian defence personnel requesting to look into their whereabouts, and for the early release and repatriation of missing Indian defence personnel.

    As per the list, out of 83 missing defence personnel, four are Prisoners of War who went missing in 1965, and most are from the 1971 war.

    A total of 21 Defence personnel are missing from 1996 till 2010.

    The Centre said in its affidavit, “It is respectfully submitted that the government of India has been pursuing the case of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee regularly through diplomatic and other available channels”.

    It said, “the High Commission of India in Islamabad has been regularly taking up the matter with the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ascertaining the whereabouts and early release and repatriation of missing defence personnel, believed to be in Pakistan’s custody”.

    The affidavit filed through Neha Singh, undersecretary (Pak) in MEA said that the name of captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee appears in the list of missing Indian defence personnel shared with Pakistan through various Notes Verbales issued by the High Commission of India.

    “However, the government of Pakistan has not acknowledged the presence of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee in its custody till date”, the MEA said and annexed the latest Note Verbale dated March 8, 2021, addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

    The government said that through the High Commission of India, Islamabad is making every effort to get any information regarding Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee, son of the petitioner.

    “The government of India will continue to raise the issue with the government of Pakistan, requesting it to respond on the status of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee”, it said.

    Referring to another similar petition filed in 2005 by the wife of a BSF Constable Surjit Singh, it said that the top court had by its order on May 3, 2005, disposed of the plea while directing the authorities to continue efforts to find out an actual position about the whereabouts of her husband and to intimate the petitioner.

    “The answering respondent state that all necessary steps through diplomatic and other available channels to trace the whereabouts of writ petitioner’s son and will continue to do so and keep the writ petitioner informed about the development in this regard,” the government said.

    On March 11, the top court had agreed to hear a plea filed by the mother of an Army officer seeking direction to the Centre to take immediate steps through diplomatic channels for repatriation of her son, who is lodged in jail in Pakistan for over 24 years.

    Earlier, the bench, on March 5, last year, had issued the notice and sought a response from the Centre on the petition filed by 81-year-old Kamla Bhattacharjee, mother of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee, seeking directions to the authorities to intervene in the case on an “urgent humanitarian basis”.

    The plea said the petitioner later received a letter dated May 31, 2010, from a Major General, who was the then military secretary to the President, which informed that Sanjit’s name had been added to the existing missing prisoners of war (POWs) list.

    It said the petitioner was informed that the issue of missing defence personnel was taken up with Pakistani authorities several times at the highest level, including during the Agra summit in July 2001, but the officials of Pakistan had informed that Sanjit could not be traced.

    “The petitioner’s family awaits the return of Capt. Sanjit till date. The petitioner’s husband died on November 28, 2020, after waiting for his son for the past twenty-three years. The petitioner herself at 81 in her old age is yearning for one sight of her son,” the plea said.

    “The petitioner’s son and his companion were not captured during any war between the two countries but during the performance of their bonafide official duties while patrolling on the border. As a consequence of this, the inclusion of his name in the list of POWs itself shows that the petitioner’s son is alive and in the jail of Pakistan,” it said.

  • India repatriates 3 Pakistani prisoners after completion of jail terms

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Saturday repatriated three Pakistani prisoners through the Attari-Wagah border transit point after they completed their jail terms.

    The prisoners are Sameera Abdul Rehman, Murtaza Asghar Ali and Ahmed Raja, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

    “Three Pakistani prisoners, who had completed their sentences, were repatriated to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border on March 26,” the MEA said.  It said Sameera Abdul Rehman was accompanied by her four-year-old girl child Sana Fatima.

    The MEA also said India attaches highest importance to addressing all humanitarian matters, including early release and repatriation of all Indian prisoners and fishermen from Pakistan.

    “The government’s persistent efforts have succeeded in release and repatriation of 20 Indian fishermen and one civilian prisoner from Pakistan’s custody in 2022, so far,” the MEA said in a statement.

    An official at the Attari border said that in 2017 the Pakistani woman was arrested along with her husband Mohammad Shihab of Palakkad in Kerala.

    She had met him in Qatar. Shihab brought her to India without a visa in September 2016 via the Nepal border. She was arrested in May 2017 and was subsequently sentenced to three-year imprisonment. She was lodged in a Bangalore jail.

    The official said her husband was released from jail on bail and thereafter he went missing. Before crossing over to Pakistan, Sameera said, “I am extremely happy as I am finally going back to Pakistan along with my daughter born in India…the Indian authorities…treated me and my daughter well in jail.” “I am also thankful to Indian officials and the Home Ministry which helped me enormously to procure all relevant travel documents to cross over to Pakistan with my daughter,” she said.

  • Ground situation ‘complex and fluid’, we are accelerating evacuation process: MEA

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Monday said it managed to accelerate efforts to evacuate its nationals from Ukraine though the ground situation remained “complex and fluid”, and noted that around 8,000 Indians left that country since the first advisory was issued earlier this month before the conflict began.

    External Affairs Ministery Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights in the last few days as part of the evacuation mission.

    The Indian embassy in Kyiv had started issuing travel advisories requesting Indians to consider leaving that country after tensions between Ukraine and Russia began to increase.

    Russia had launched the attack on the eastern European country four days back.

    A large number of Indians left the country following the advisories.

    The MEA spokesperson also said India is sending humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

    Bagchi said the government has decided to send four union ministers as the prime minister’s envoys to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova to oversee the evacuation of Indian nationals through Ukrainian land border crossings with these countries.

    He said Union Minister Hardeep Puri will go to Hungary, Jyotiraditya Scindia will oversee the evacuation process in Romania and Moldova, Kiren Rijiju will travel to Slovakia and Gen (retd) V K Singh is leaving for Poland.

    “The special envoys will be travelling to these countries to basically coordinate and oversee the evacuation process on the ground,” Bagchi said, adding they may also go close the places where the evacuation is happening if the situation permits.

    “That will depend on the specific circumstances. I think you will see them operating there coordinating evacuation efforts and getting in touch with the local authorities as well as other partners which are helping in this process” he said.

    Bagchi said the “situation on the ground in terms of evacuation continues to be “complex and fluid” but India has managed to accelerate the evacuation process in the last 24 hours.

    “You have seen media reports. Some of them are concerning. Nevertheless, we have been able to accelerate our evacuation process clearly over the last 24 hours,” he said.

    The MEA spokesperson also urged the Indian students not to panic.

    “I do not think the students should panic. They should try to go to the western parts of Ukraine while contacting our control rooms and sharing their locations so that we can get them registered for their exit,” he said.

    “Our estimate is that over 8,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since we issued the initial advisories. It’s not since the conflict began, but since we issued the initial advisories,” he emphasised.

    Bagchi said India’s focus has been on evacuating its nationals through the land border crossings, noting that there has been some improvement in the movement of people into Poland through the situation on the Polish border is still difficult.

    He said there has been progress in the evacuation of people along the border in Romania and that exiting through the Hungarian transit point is also picking up momentum.

    The spokesperson said India has managed to open a new route through Moldova and an MEA team has already reached that country this morning to assist the evacuation of Indians from Moldova to Romania.

    “This new route should help Indians in Southern Ukraine. We are looking at how we can move them to Moldova and then to Romania,” he said.

    Bagchi said India is encouraging its citizens to move to western Ukraine and that the MEA’s understanding is that some students in the cities in eastern Ukraine are boarding trains to the western side.

    “We want to emphasise that people should not reach the border directly. If they do they will face a long waiting time to cross as you have seen on the Polish border. You have seen it on the Romanian border too.”

    “Please do reach in the western part of the country, but please seek shelter in nearby towns,” he said.

    Bagchi said flights are not a constraint.

    “We will add more flights as needed. We are continually augmenting the number of MEA teams in border crossing points. We are also augmenting a number of officials in the nearby countries,” he said.

    India on Friday managed to set up camp offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine to facilitate the transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania and Poland.

    India also positioned teams of officials at Zahony border post in Hungary, Krakowiec as well as Shehyni-Medyka land border points in Poland, Vysne Nemecke in the Slovak Republic and Suceava transit point in Romania to coordinate the exit of Indian nationals from Ukraine.

    It is using the land routes to evacuate its citizens as Ukraine has closed its airspace for civilian aircraft following the Russian attack.

    Stepping up its efforts to evacuate thousands of Indians stuck in Ukraine, the government on Monday decided to send four Union ministers to the neighbouring countries of the war-torn country to coordinate the evacuation process even as the external affairs ministry said nearly 8,000 nationals have returned in the last fortnight.

    The decision to send Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and V K Singh as “special envoys” of India to coordinate the evacuation process was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also held another high-level meeting in the evening on Ukraine, government sources said.

    Official sources said Modi spoke to all four ministers personally to convey the decision that they will be coordinating evacuation efforts on the ground from the countries in Ukraine’s neighbourhood.

    Scindia will take care of evacuation efforts from Romania and Moldova while Rijiju will go to Slovakia, sources said, adding Puri will go to Hungary and Singh will be in Poland to manage the evacuation.

    The decision to send these ministers came a day after Modi asserted that ensuring the safety of Indian students and evacuating them is the government’s top priority.

    Monday meeting was also attended by several ministers, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla among other senior officials.

    Also on Monday, Shringla briefed a parliamentary panel on the situation in Ukraine amid a Russian military offensive and India’s efforts to evacuate its citizens through land check-posts with five neighbouring countries, sources said.

    They said the foreign secretary informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that in the next two days the government is planning to operate 13 evacuation flights to the neighbouring nations of the war-torn country and the number of daily flights would be increased to nine.

    During the briefing, Shringla also said that Russian-speaking officers had been sent to the border check-posts and Indian embassies in Ukraine’s five neighbouring countries — Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova — to boost evacuation efforts.

    Asserting that India has managed to accelerate its efforts to get its nationals out of Ukraine in the last 24 hours, the MEA said a total of 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights as part of the evacuation mission.

    MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said the total number of Indians who have left Ukraine since India issued the first advisory earlier this month is around 8,000.

    India is also sending humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the ministry said.

    Calling Modi’s decision to send four ministers a “visionary step”, Singh told reporters “I am leaving for Poland today and will coordinate with both Ukraine and Poland to facilitate the evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine.”

    “The other three ministers are likely to leave on Tuesday. After Singh’s travel announcement, Poland’s Ambassador to India Adam Burakowski held a closed-door meeting with the Union minister.”

    Describing his meeting with Singh as “very good”, the ambassador said his country is allowing entry to people of all nationalities who are leaving war-hit Ukraine by road and food and shelter will be provided to them.

    Amid reports claiming that Indians were facing difficulties on the Poland-Ukraine border, the ambassador said those who are trying to cross to Poland from Ukraine must refer to the social media handles of the Indian embassy in Warsaw and the Twitter handle of Operation Ganga.

    “I would like to request all Indian nationals who are trying to cross to Poland from Ukraine that they must refer to the social media of Indian embassy in Warsaw and Twitter account of Operation Ganga,” Burakowski told PTI.

    Modi had chaired a meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Sunday too.

    It was decided at the meeting to further enhance cooperation with the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite the evacuation of Indian students, sources had said.

    According to sources, India has agreed to send humanitarian assistance including medical supplies to Ukraine at the request of the government there.

    Top external affairs ministry officials on Monday briefed a parliamentary panel about efforts to bring back Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine, including plans for 13 evacuation flights in the next two-three days to its neighbouring countries and subsequent increase in the number of daily flights to nine, sources said.

    Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla gave a detailed presentation to the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs on the situation in Ukraine following a Russian military offensive and India’s efforts to evacuate its citizens, they said.

    For evacuation of Indian nationals through land borders with five neighbouring countries- Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova – Russian-speaking officers from the ministry of external affairs here have been sent to the border check-posts and Indian embassies in these countries to boost evacuation efforts.

    The agenda of the parliamentary panel chaired by BJP leader P P Chaudhary was to deliberate on the ministry’s Demand for Grants for the financial year 2022-23, but it took up the crisis in Ukraine following a written notice of RSP MP NK Premchandran and request of other MPs.

    Briefing the committee members about Operation Ganga launched by the government to rescue Indian nationals, including students, from Ukraine, Shringla and other external affairs ministry officials informed the panel that around 13 flights are expected to be operated in the next two-three days.

    Systematic planning is being done to evacuate citizens and the ministry is working to multi-fold increase the number of daily flights to evacuate stranded Indians, to around nine, according to sources.

    Shringla told the committee that so far around 1,200 students had returned in five flights.

    Several thousand others had crossed the Ukrainian border or were in the process of doing so, the sources said.

    The committee was also briefed on the measures being taken by the government to work with the International Committee of the Red Cross in ensuring the safety of Indian nationals in Ukraine, they said.

    The Committee unanimously appreciated the measures being taken by the government for its Operation Ganga to bring Indian nationals, particularly students, back from Ukraine, the sources said.

    Some panel members also enquired about India’s position on the conflict at the international level and were informed that at the UN Security Council, India had asked for an immediate cessation of violence and hostilities.

    India had also called for a return to diplomacy and dialogue and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, the sources added.

    Talking about stranded students, officials informed the panel that three advisories were issued, but the students were reluctant to leave as they did not want to miss their exams, the sources said.

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