Students who won scholarships provided by the Indian government protested in front of the Indian embassy in Kabul, criticizing Delhi for not considering their situation.  

They said that their educational semesters are incomplete as the Indian government has not been providing visas for them to attend their classes.  

“There are 2,500 students including ICCR and SII (Study In India),” said Hamid a student.  

“Many students are stranded here, even those who are in the last semester of the university, and their lessons started but they can’t attend their classes,” said Taib Ahmad, another student.  

The students also expressed concerns over the high costs for traveling between Kabul and Delhi.  

“Those students who have money are trying to travel via Iran to Afghanistan. It cost 600 to 700. Some students are trying to go via ground paths through Pakistan,” said Waheed Zaheer, a student based in India.  

The students were chanting the slogan: “Don’t sacrifice us for politics, education is our right." 

Meanwhile, the Afghans who filled out visa application forms for India said that their passports remain in the custody of the Indian embassy. They called on the Indian embassy to return their passports. 

“When the changes happened in Afghanistan, our passports were seized by the Indian embassy. We received neither a visa nor a passport,” said Najim, a Kabul resident.   

When the Islamic Emirate swept into power, the Indian embassy suspended activities in Afghanistan, leaving many visa applications unresolved, including those of students on scholarship.