Indian mission in Kandahar working with local staff: Afghan envoy

NEW DELHI: The Afghanistan ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, has said that the Indian consulate general in Kandahar has not been closed & continues to operate through local staff.
"The temporary measure to bring diplomats back to India is based on safety & security grounds. India’s long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign,& stable Afghanistan remains strong," tweeted Mamundzay.

The MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had also said on Sunday that the decision to bring back Indians deployed in Afghanistan is temporary.
“India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. The safety and security of our personnel is paramount. The Consulate General of India in Kandahar has not been closed. However, due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being. I want to emphasise that this is a purely temporary measure until the situation stabilises,” Bagchi had said.
New Delhi evacuated all its India-based personnel from Kandahar on Saturday evening by a special flight as Taliban advanced into the region amid fighting and violence.
Concerns about the capture of Afghanistan by Taliban have grown in recent weeks. The Taliban recently claimed it now controls over 85% of the South Asian country's territory.
India has already closed down its missions in Jalalabad and Herat in 2020. While it was claimed that Covid was the reason for it, the security situation had reportedly played a part in the decision.