New Delhi, Aug 17: Amid escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, India has evacuated its embassy staff in Kabul in a special Air Force flight.
"In view of the prevailing circumstances, it has been decided that our Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately (sic)," Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry Of External Affairs, tweeted this morning.
Afghanistan is witnessing its worst political crisis in two decades as Taliban returned to power on Sunday evening, months after the US withdrawal of troops from the South Asian country. Shocking visuals showed the terrorists inside the Presidential Palace, shortly after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Tragic scenes from Kabul Airport on Monday captured the plight of locals as wells as foreigners stuck in the country. A video that has caught global attention shows three persons falling to death from a plane as they try to escape the Taliban rule.
The evacuation operation resumed this morning at Kabul airport after Monday's mayhem.
In a late-night tweet, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said he "discussed" latest developments in Afghanistan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and "underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul".
India has also announced a new category of electronic visa - "e-Emergency X-Misc Visa" - to fast-track applications from Afghans who wish to leave the Taliban-controlled country.
Comments
Add new comment