India tells its citizens to leave Af ‘at once’
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday advised its nationals in Afghanistan to make immediate travel arrangements to return home before commercial air services are discontinued amid intense fighting between security forces and the Taliban across the war-torn country.
A security advisory issued by the Indian embassy also called on Indian companies operating in Afghanistan to immediately withdraw Indian employees from project sites before air services get discontinued. This was the third security alert issued by the mission for Indian citizens since June 29 and it reiterated a warning to avoid non-essential travel because of a serious threat of kidnapping.
The alert was issued hours after Indian began the process for evacuating its officials and nationals from the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on
Indian Air Force aircraft amid reports of an advance by the Taliban.
Tuesday’s security advisory said that with the escalation of violence in many parts of Afghanistan, commercial air travel services to many provinces and cities were being discontinued.
“All Indian nationals visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan are strongly advised to keep themselves updated on the availability of commercial flights from various parts of Afghanistan and make immediate travel arrangements to return to India before commercial air services are discontinued to their place of stay/visit in Afghanistan,” the alert said.
“Indian companies operating in Afghanistan are strongly
advised to immediately withdraw their Indian employees out of project sites in Afghanistan before air travel services get discontinued. Indian nationals working for Afghan or foreign companies in Afghanistan should immediately request their employer to facilitate their travel from project sites to India,” it added.
The embassy said the security advisory was also valid for Indian media personnel in Afghanistan, who should establish contact with the mission’s public affairs and security wing for a personalised briefing, “including specific advice for the location they are travelling to”.
This, it added, will help the media make a better assessment of “risks involved, given the rapid changes in security situation taking place in different parts of the country”.
According to information provided by the government to Parliament last week, there are currently some 1,500 Indian nationals in Afghanistan.
Most of them are workers and professionals engaged for the hundreds of development projects being implemented by the Indian government under its pledges of $3 billion for reconstruction and development efforts.
The last security advisory issued by India on July 24 had said the security situation in Afghanistan “remains dangerous in several provinces”.
It said terror groups had escalated violent activities including targeting of civilians. “Indian nationals are not exceptions, and they additionally face a serious threat of kidnapping,” it added.
Since the previous advisory was issued, the security situation has further deteriorated as the Taliban pushed ahead with their campaign targeting provincial capitals and urban centres after capturing wide swathes of territory in rural areas.
The Taliban campaign gained momentum with the withdrawal of most of the US and NATO forces.
With the drawdown of foreign troops to be completed by August 31, experts believe the security situation will get worsen.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian consulate in Mazar-eSharif, which was the only fully functional consulate out of four such missions across Afghanistan, asked Indian nationals to take a special flight that will evacuate officials, diplomats and security personnel.
All Indian diplomats and officials from the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif and Indian nationals living in and around the city are to be evacuated in Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft by Tuesday evening, people familiar with the developments said on condition of anonymity.
The exact number of people being evacuated couldn’t immediately be ascertained. The move comes exactly a month after India evacuated some 50 officials and security personnel from the consulate in the southern city of Kandahar on July 10 following intense clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters.
The Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, which was the only fully functional consulate out of four such missions across Afghanistan, on Tuesday asked the Indian nationals to take the special evacuation flight.
“A special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening,” the consulate said in a tweet.
The consulate asked the Indian citizens wishing to leave by the special flight to provide their names and passport numbers.
The people cited above said the strength of the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif had been reduced recently in the wake of the Taliban intensifying its campaign to capture territory in rural areas and overrun provincial capitals and urban centres.
The consulate has also been without a head since the last consul general, Vinesh Kalra, died of Covid-19 in a hospital in Kabul in May.
The officials and security personnel in the consulate in Kandahar were evacuated last month after the Taliban seized key areas near the city in southern Afghanistan.
The Indian side has been closely tracking the deteriorating security situation across Afghanistan and officials had previously said all steps will be taken to ensure that Indian officials and nationals are not put in harm’s way.
According to information provided by the government in Parliament last week, there are currently some 1,500 Indian nationals in Afghanistan.
A majority of them are workers and professionals engaged in the hundreds of development projects being implemented by the Indian government.
The presence of hundreds of terrorists from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed in different parts of Afghanistan has also emerged as a key security concern for the Indian side.
Indian nationals are not exceptions, and additionally face serious threat of kidnapping. SECURITY ADVISORY, Indian embassy THE INDIAN CONSULATE IN MAZAR-E-SHARIF ASKED NATIONALS TO TAKE A SPECIAL FLIGHT THAT WILL EVACUATE OFFICIALS