GWADAR/QUETTA: More than 200 students, pilgrims and other Pakistani nationals have returned home from Iran over the past two days through the Gabad-250 Ramadan border in Gwadar district, while more students were expected to arrive on Wednesday.

Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Naqeeb Ullah Kakar said that on Tuesday a group of Pakistani students from different parts of Iran reached Gabad and were later shifted to Gwadar.

“A total of 51 students reached Gwadar late in the evening, including 24 female and 27 male students,” he told Dawn, adding that they would be sent to their respective cities under security arrangements. He said Pakistani officials in Tehran had informed authorities about the students’ return, after which all arrangements were made for their stay and security in the port city.

A senior official in Gwadar said the students who returned from Iran were enrolled at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, which was closed by the Iranian government due to a rise in violent incidents. The students belong to different cities of Punjab and Sindh. “Over the past two days, more than 80 students have returned to Pakistan from Iran,” a security official told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026