Amid escalating tensions in Afghanistan, India said that it has decided to evacuate its embassy staff in Kabul. “In view of the prevailing circumstances, it has been decided that our Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
The announcement came two days after the Taliban captured power in Afghanistan. Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday completing their takeover of the country in a lightning offensive that saw provinces and warlords give up without a fight, days after the hasty withdrawal of US troops.
Two Indian Air Force C-17 transports flew into Kabul on August 15 to evacuate Indian embassy personnel, including Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel who defend the mission, sources have said. The first batch of 45 Indian personnel who were evacuated on the first IAF aircraft yesterday were initially stopped by Taliban sentries on their way to the airport, they said.
The first Indian transport aircraft that left Kabul yesterday took off under very challenging circumstances given the chaos at Kabul airport where thousands of desperate Afghans had arrived in the hope of flying out of the country.
The remaining members of the Indian diplomatic and security contingent were unable to evacuate yesterday since the route to the airport was closed and there were mobs at the airport.
An overnight conversation between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar may have helped in moving the Indian personnel to Kabul airport this morning.
The personal belongings of a few Indian staff members were taken away by the Taliban as they proceeded to the airport, sources have said.
