Afghan national stranded abroad without visa; family awaits in TVM for 2 years

An Afghan national stranded in Iran without a visa for two years, while his family awaits him for 2 years. Gulabmir Rahmany, a post-doctoral fellow in the Sociology department of the university, went to Afghanistan in 2020 to renew his visa and to collect data in connection with his post-doctoral research in that country.

Unfortunately, the United States troops stationed there since 2001 began their withdrawal in 2020 and the Taliban took over the country. After that Indian government cancelled the visas of those in Afghanistan in view of the change in the geopolitical scenario and resultantly, he was stranded there. He also attempted to come to India via Iran, but has had no luck till now and is still waiting in Tehran for nearly a year to secure a visa.

Professor Sabu Joseph, Director of the varsity’s Centre for Global Academics (CGA), who is aware of Rahmany’s predicament, said that while stranded aboard, his family — wife and three kids — were having a tough time here. Rahmany’s wife, Zamzama, who is pursuing PhD in Physics from the University of Kerala, narrated the ordeal she has undergone while trying to manage her studies, household chores and take care of her children’s needs in the absence of her husband in the last two years.

Rahmany, who completed his PhD from Osmania University in Hyderabad, is also in a financial predicament in Tehran and depends on money sent by his family in Afghanistan. The stipend he gets as part of the Bridge scholarship given by the university is much lower than what Zamzama gets under her Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship, professor Joseph said.

Zamzama said that if her husband is able to come back, he could share in the household and family responsibilities and that would give her more time to complete her studies. She also met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a recommendation was forwarded by the state government to provide a visa to her husband, but there was no response from the Centre, she claimed.