India on Thursday once again expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the wake of another round of attacks by Houthi rebels on infrastructure in the Gulf country that left an Indian dead and three others injured overnight.
New Delhi is also working with airlines and tour operators to facilitate the safe return of Umrah pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia after three Indian carriers — Air India, IndiGo and Akasa — suspended all flights to and from the Gulf country because of the targeting of airports by the Houthis.
According to the external affairs ministry, one Indian national was killed and two others injured in the attack on Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia
on Wednesday evening. Another Indian was injured in an attack on Aramco’s Shaybah oil field.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Thursday that the Saudis had targeted an Indian yacht with 14 Indians near Zuqar Island in the Red Sea.
The Indian mission in Yemen said it would “provide all possible help for ensuring the safety and well-being of the Indian nationals”.
Earlier, condemning the attacks on the airport and the oil field, the ministry had said in a statement: “The attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately. We stand in solidarity with the people and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, and hope that peace and normalcy would return to the region at the earliest.”
Amid reports of many Indian pilgrims being stranded in Saudi Arabia, ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah were actively engaging with airlines and tour operators to facilitate their early return.
“Over the past week, about 3,000 stranded Umrah pilgrims have travelled from Saudi Arabia back to India on available flights. This is in addition to more than 10,000 normal Umrah pilgrims who were booked on the available flights and have travelled back to India over the past week. Arrangements are being discussed to facilitate the return of other Umrah pilgrims at the earliest. Our embassy and consulate, with the support of community volunteers, are extending all possible welfare assistance.”
Prior to the statement, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM had said on X that 4,000 pilgrims from India were stuck in Mecca and Madina. “They had flown via @IndiGo, @AkasaAir and @airindia but are now stuck there since these airlines have cancelled their flights. @DGCAIndia must give these airlines permission to run flights in larger aircraft so that these stranded pilgrims can return to India. If not, at least specified flights must be arranged to bring them back.”
According to Owaisi, the Indian pilgrims had been abandoned by their travel agents. “This needs your urgent intervention,” he posted on X, tagging ministers Kiren Rijiju, S. Jaishankar and Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, besides foreign secretary Vikram Misri.