SRINAGAR: For Saba Rasool, a medical student at Urmia University of Medical Sciences in Iran, the journey back home to Safakadal in Srinagar was long and fraught with anxiety. Relieved to be back home from war-torn Iran, she is also worried about the future.The conflict erupted with little warning, said Saba. “Initially, we thought it would settle down in a few days. But, as the situation worsened and the war intensified, we began to worry,” she added.There are around 100 Indian students at her university, 90 of them from Kashmir. Since the 1990s, Kashmiri students have been pursuing medical education abroad, particularly in Central Asian countries, Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Iran. In recent years, Eastern Europe and Bangladesh have also emerged as preferred destinations for medical studies for Kashmiris.Since degrees obtained in Pakistan — whether MBBS, BDS, engineering or others — by students who enrolled after 2018 are not recognised in India, according to two separate orders issued in 2022 by the National Medical Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education, students are usually not opting for Pakistan now.G N Var, a prominent educationist from J&K, said medical education in Iran is quite affordable due to the lower value of Iranian rial against the dollar, and that’s why, the country has become a preferred destination for Kashmiris. “Studying medicine in Iran costs around Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh, whereas in Bangladesh it can go up to Rs 40 lakh,” Var said.Saba, who went to Iran in 2021 to pursue MBBS, is now in fourth year. Sensing an imminent internet shutdown after the Israeli airstrikes, she quickly called her family to let them know she was safe.“As the bombings increased, we realised things were going out of control,” she said. It started with drone attacks, and then attacks on Tabriz and Mashhad airports.Then the MEA stepped in, evacuating students from Urmia University of Medical Sciences to neighbouring Armenia. From there, with assistance from the Indian Embassy, they were flown back to Delhi.The university assured the students it would remain closed only for a month, but Saba is not optimistic. “It doesn’t look like this will end in a month,” she said.While the students were full of praise for MEA’s swift response, and the support of the university and people in Iran, many were critical of J&K administration for what they called an inadequate reception back home. “At Delhi airport, we felt the J&K govt did not step up the way it should have,” Saba said. “We were told buses had been arranged for us, but they were in poor condition. So, I arranged for my own travel, and many other students did the same.”Following complaints from students, chief minister Omar Abdullah directed officials to arrange deluxe buses for them.Nasir Khuehamai, national convenor, Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA), said around 600 Indian students, including 500 from Kashmir, had safely reached Mashhad from Qom. “This is the second group of students who were earlier relocated to Qom, where they stayed for three days. Their evacuation process is currently underway,” he said.Mashhad, a border city in Iran, is located around 1,000 km from Qom, a journey that takes around 15 hours by road. “The students are from Islamic Azad University, Iran University of Medical University, Shahed Beheshti University, and other institutions. “From Mashhad, they are expected to be taken to Turkmenistan, from where they will likely board flights to Delhi tomorrow (Friday),” Nasir said.However, students from Tehran Medical University took to social media and said they had been relocated by the university administration to Gilan Province of Iran, but after their relocation, the Indian Embassy had not contacted them.