PremiumAfghanistan unrest: Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul in view of chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover
Several Indians are expected to be brought back home from Afghanistan in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital Kabul.
Over the past few weeks, the Taliban, who were ousted by US-led troops in 2001, has now effectively controlled almost entire Afghanistan.
As a result, the Indian government has started evacuation from the war-torn country by taking help pf the US, the UK and others in order to protect its citizens from the Taliban's rule.
Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul in view of chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover.
Here are the key points about the evacuation of Indians from Afghanistan:
1. Around 300 Indian nationals are expected to be brought back home from Afghanistan on Sunday, news agency ANI said.
2. Eighty-seven Indians and two Nepalese were on Saturday taken to Tajikistan capital Dushanbe from Kabul on board a military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force and the group is being brought back to Delhi in an Air India from the central Asian city early on Sunday.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed that an Air India flight carrying 87 Indians has departed from Tajikistan for New Delhi.
"Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy in Dushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," said Bagchi.
3. Separately, the Indian embassy in Qatar said 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days, are being sent to India.
"1st batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated 4m Kabul to Doha over past days being repatriated tonight to India," the embassy said in a post-midnight tweet.
4.India has already evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF
5. The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on August 16.
6. The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on August 17.
7. India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces have granted permission to India for evacuation.
8. Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul which is now under the Taliban's control. The Indian Air Force has already evacuated around 180 passengers including its Ambassador to Afghanistan and all other diplomats.
9. On August 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and instructed all concerned officials to undertake all necessary measures to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan in the coming days
10. The MEA said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan. The External Affairs Ministry has also requested the Indians as well as their employers to urgently share the relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell.
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