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India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said that more than 11.6 lakh Indian citizens have returned to their homes safely despite the recent security crisis in West Asia. The Ministry of External Affairs has presented it as the largest voluntary reparation and travel management operation ever. Under this operation, India has helped in bringing back home its citizens stranded in Gulf countries and various parts of Western Asia.

Let us tell you, MEA Additional Secretary (Gulf) Asim R Mahajan disclosed this during an inter-ministerial briefing. He said that from 28 February 2026 till now, 11,61,000 Indian citizens have returned to India from Western Asia. “We have taken every possible step to ensure the safety of our citizens in this area,” Mahajan said. Apart from this, emphasis was also laid on the successful return of 12 Indian sailors stranded in Iraq. These sailors have returned to India from Baghdad, where the Indian Mission provided them complete assistance.

Mahajan further said that the Indian mission provided full assistance in the transit of sailors after the reopening of Iraq’s airspace. He said, “The process of helping seafarers in collaboration with our mission and the port authority has been continuing.”

According to MEA, Indian missions are working round the clock to assist Indian citizens in West Asia. Along with this, the Ministry said that the security situation is being continuously monitored and all government employees have been advised to be ready to help their citizens.

Apart from this, Mahajan also informed that the Indian government has ensured the availability of flights for Indian citizens from countries like Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The campaign is also going on to contact the airlines to bring Indian citizens back to India safely. “We have ensured flight operations in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar and more operations are being planned in the coming days,” he said.

Mahajan also told in the briefing that the airspace of Iran and Israel is also now open for commercial flights. Citizens of India can also travel safely through these routes. Additionally, it was noted that the Government, in cooperation with the Indian Mission, has created a solid support system with local authorities.

MEA said during this briefing that the ministry has set up a control room which is continuously monitoring the situation in the area. He said that every kind of counseling and security assistance is being provided to Indian citizens.