Claiming that a number of Indians in Iran are facing extreme difficulties, a group of pilgrims from Kashmir and Kargil has urged for immediate intervention from the government.
Nadeem Yaqoob Hussain Bhat of Kashmir’s Budgam left with a team of 33 Shia pilgrims on January 31 to visit Iraq, Syria and Iran but is now stuck without food and money in Iran’s Qom. The team visited shrines of Imam Hussein, Bibi Zainab and Imam Ali in Iraq and Syria before reaching Qom as the city became the epicentre of the COVID-19 crisis in Iran prompting cancellation of Iranian flights to India.
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After 16 days, Mr. Bhat says he is on the verge of a mental breakdown. “Iran is cracking down on the emergency and in Qom especially there are many hard measures but our biggest worry is that the longer we stay here the greater is the chance that we could all fall sick if left here any longer. We are scared and have no money. We are risking our own health and if we fall sick then there is no scope of getting treatment here as there is no space in Iran’s hospitals that are overrun with their own patients,” said Mr. Bhat painting a dismal picture.
Mr. Bhat is a team leader of a large group of pilgrims who carry out frequent tours to Najaf, Karbala, Mashad, Qom and other holy places in West Asia. The number of pilgrims stuck in Qom from Kashmir, Ladakh and Kargil is around 850, according to him. Asghar Ali, a team leader of another group of pilgrims from Kargil, is among those who are trying t