Kathmandu. More than 30,000 Nepalis have returned home from the West Asia conflict so far. More than 30,000 Nepalis who had gone for foreign employment and other jobs have returned home after the conflict between the United States and Iran caused tension in the region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference on Friday.

According to the ministry, these citizens have returned home due to the immediate situation and on leave. Of them, 21,000 Nepalis have returned from Qatar, according to Ramkaji Khadka, chief of the Central Asia, West Asia and Africa division of the ministry. He said that 87,819 people from the same area have registered about their situation so far on the online portal launched by the Ministry’s Consular Services Department after the conflict.

Khadka said that efforts are being made for the release of Amrit Jha, a Nepali citizen who was arrested with a ship in the Hormuz area of Iran during the conflict. According to the ministry, he will be released soon.

Spokesperson of the Ministry, Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, said that out of 10 Nepalis in Iran in course of work, two are preparing to return home and the remaining eight are now in Iran feeling safe. The Ministry has said that it is working through emergency response groups for the safety and facilitation of Nepali citizens in the area.

At the press conference, Spokesperson Chhetri said that the Indian government has invited Prime Minister Balendra Shah to visit India and preliminary preparations for the visit are underway. He also said that the distribution of passports is going on smoothly at present and coordination is being made with the Postal Department to make arrangements to deliver passports to the people at their doorsteps.